LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Shelf ..M£-^ 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



p 



THE TENNESSEE FARMER'S 



Horse Book. 



A TREATISE ON THE AMERICAN HORSE 
AND HIS DISEASES. 



THE RESULT OF NEARLY TWENTY YEARS PRACTICE, AND ESPE- 
CIALLY ADAPTED TO THE USE OF THE FARMER. SETTING 
FORTH ABOUT FORTY DISEASES: THEIR CAUSE 
AND SYMPTOMS, TREATMENT AND CURE. 



9 







By T. p. MOORE, V. S 




^ ^ 



Printed for the Author. 
1890. 



Entered According to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, 

By THOMAS P. MOORE, Sardis, Tenn., 
In the OflSce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 






c-X "^^'^ 



PREFACE. 

The author, in presenting "The Tennessee Farm- 
er's Horse Book " to the public, believes he is supply- 
ing a long-felt want among the farmers of the country, 
and confidently believes that he is conferring a 
blessing upon his fellow man that will outlive him- 
self. His reason for thus believing is that he has 
for more than twenty years tested the merits of the 
remedies recommended in this work. It is the result 
of a long practice in the States of Alabama and Ten- 
nessee. 

The author does not claim perfection in this work, 
nor does he claim to be a graduate from some veteri- 
nary school; but having procured the best books 
that could be obtained, and studied them carefully, 
receiving such benefits by following their teaching, 
first with his own horses and mules, and then with 
those of his neighbors, he now sends the work out 
upon its own merits. It is written in plain, simple 
language that the common people will readily under- 
stand. But few persons are found capable of properly 
treating the diseases of the horse. Not a few have 
professed to know all about the horse and his diseases 
whose ignorance and presumption have generally dis- 
gusted the horse owners. Medicines are too often 
given to destroy the effects of the disease rather than 
to remove the cause of it. The farmer must necessa- 
rily be his own horse doctor, or be without one ; hence 
the importance that all horsemen acquaint themselves 
not only with the ordinary diseases of the horse, but 
also with the medicines which will cure them. The 
farmer is not familiar with many of the preparations 
recommended by some authors. This should not be 
so. The remedies recommended in this work are few, 
simple, and easily procured. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



A Brief History of the Horse, 

Apoplexy, 

Age, Marks of, 

Abuse of the Horse, 

Big-Shoulder, 

Blanketing, 

Big-head, 

Blind Teeth, 

Bone Spavin, 

Bellows, or Heaves, 

Blind Staggers, 

Blood Letting, 

Contraction of the Hoof, 

Corns, .... 

Calculi, or Stone in Bladder 

Colt Founder, . 

Coughs, 

Copperas, 

Care and General Treatment 

Creosote, .... 

Cleansing and Currying, 

Changes of Temperature, 

Camphorated Coal Oil, 

Caustic Potash, 

Diseases of the Eye, 

Distemper, 

Diabetes, 

Diseases of Young Colts, 

Disinfectants, 

Distemper Mixture, 

Diseases of the Tc^th, 

Drenching, 

Epilepsy, 

Eye- Wash, 

Enlarged Hock, 

Fistula, 

Founder, 

Farcy, 



9 

97 

171 

179 

19 

165 

29 

99 

23 

136 

55 

122 

42 

43 

113 

117 

135 

143 

145 

143 

160 

163 

211 

211 

34 

49 

115 

148 

166 

213 

100 

127 

97 

213 

26 

61 

39 

54 



VI 



Contents. 



Flatulent Colic, 

Foul Sheath, 

Glanders, 

Grain, .... 

Gentling and Training, 

Hide-Bound, 

Hooks, 

Hoof-Rot, 

Iodide Mercury Ointment, 

Inflammation of the Kidneys, 

Inflammation of the Bladder, 

Internal Poison, 

Lampas, 

Linseed Oil, 

Laryngitis, 

May Apple, 

Mange, 

May Apple Salve, 

Navicular Diseases, 

Narrow Heel, . 

Nasal Gleet, 

Nerve Liniment, 

Nux Vomica. 

Nicking and Docking, 

Overworking, 

Pneumonia, 

Poison Oak, 

Polk Root, 

Pasturing, 

Preparation of Medicine, 

Penetrating liiniment, 

Poll Evil, 

Paralysis, 

Renovating Powders, 

Sulphur Ointment, 

Sweeny of the Shoulder, 

Sweeny of the Hip, 

Slipped or Broken Hip, 

Stifle, 

Splint, .... 

Stone Bruise, or Injury to the 

Spanish Flies, . . . 

Snake Bites, 

Stable Management, 

String-halt, .... 



Frog, 



107 

116 

44 

158 

187 

84 

35 

36 

214 

110 

113 

141 

103 

214 

130 

143 

87 

209 

37 

42 

53 

212 

142 

186 

181 

133 

144 

144 

133 

208 

208 

67 

98 

210 

212 

15 

20 

20 

20 

25 

43 

141 

139 

152 

77 



Contents. vii 

Scratches, 79 

Slitting of the Ears, 184 

Surfeit, 85 

Swelled Legs and Ankles, 82 

Stiff Complaint, 88 

Saddle and Harness Galls, 91 

Sore Nose and Mouth, 93 

Thumps, . . . . . . . . . -120 

Thrush, 80 

Tetanus or Lockjaw, 71 

The Blood, 121 

Thin Blood, 122 

Thick Blood, 122 

The Borer Worm, 140 

Tincture Aconite, 140 

The Young Colt and his Treatment, .... 155 

Teething, 156 

The Clyster, 126 

Vermin, 93 

Winter Feed, 160 

Whipping, 183 

Wind Gall 70 

Warts, 89 



A Brief History of the Horse. 

The horse is a native of several districts of 
Asia and Africa ; and in the southern parts of 
Siberia large herds of these animals are occa- 
sionally seen. They are extremely swift, act- 
ive, and vigilant, and have always a sentinel, 
who, by a loud neigh, gives notice to the herd 
of the approach of danger, on which they 
galop off* with astonishing rapidity. 

The horse, in an unimproved state, is found 
in almost every part of the globe, except, per- 
haj^s, in the Arctic circle. As a domestic his 
docility and gentleness is unparalleled, and he 
contributes more to the convenience and pride 
of man than all other animals put together. 

In Arabia the horse is found in their high- 
est perfection, as little degenerated in their 
race as the lion or ti^er. To the Arabs thev 
are as dear as their own children, and the 
constant intercourse, arising from living in 
the same tent with his owner and family, 
creates a familiarity that could not otherwise 



lo The Farmer's horse Book, 

be effected, and a tractability that arises only 
from the kindest usage. They are the fleetest 
animals of the desert, and are so well trained 
as to stop in their most rapid course by the 
slighest check of the rider. Unaccustomed 
to the spur, the least touch with the foot sets 
them again in motion, and so obedient are they 
to their rider's will as to be directed in their 
course merely by the motion of a switch. The 
Arabs never beat or correct their horses, but 
always treat them with the utmost kindness. 
The description of the Eastern horses in 
the Book of Job is exceedingly poetical and 
expressive: "Hast thou given the horse 
strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with 
thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a 
grasshopper? The glory of 'his nostrils is 
terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoic- 
eth in his strength : he goeth on to meet the 
armed men: he mocketh at fear, and is not 
affrighted ; neither turneth he back from the 
sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the 
glitt'^ring spear, and the shield. He swallow- 
eth the ground with fierceness and rage ; nei- 
ther believeth he that it is the sound of the 
trumpet. He saith among the trumpets. Ha, 



History of the horse. n 

ha! and he smelleth the battle afar off, the 
thunder of the captains, and the shouting." 

In Norway, where most of the roads are 
impassable for carriages, the horses are re- 
markably sure footed. They skip along over 
the stones, and are always full of spirit. 
Pontopiddan says when they go up and down 
a steep cliff, on stones like steps, they first 
gently tread with one foot to try if the stone 
be firm, and in this way must be left entirely to 
their own management, or the best rider in the 
world would run the risk of breaking his neck. 
They exhibit much courage when they contend, 
as they are often under the necessity of doing, 
with wolves and bears, but particularly with 
the latter. When the horse perceives any of 
these animals near him he attacks them with 
his forelegs, which he uses so expertly as gen- 
erally to prove victorious. Sometimes, how- 
ever, the bear gets the advantage, particularly 
if the horse makes any attempt by turning 
his heels, for the bear then instantly closes 
tijjon him, and keeps such firm hold as scarcely 
to be shaken off. The horse in this case gal- 
ops away with his enemy, until he falls and 
expires from loss of blood. 



12 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

There are a few countries that can boast a 
breed of horses so excellent as our own. The 
English hunters, however, are allowed to be 
among the noblest, most elegant, and useful ani- 
mals in the world. While the French and many 
other European nations seem attentive only to 
spirit and parade, we train ours for strength 
and dispatch. With unwearied attention, 
however, to the breed, and repeated trials of 
all the best horses in the world, ours are now 
becoming capable of performing what no oth- 
ers can, especially where they have been judi- 
ciously bred and trained. Among racers the 
English had one (Childers) which has been 
known to pass over eighty -two and a half 
feet in a second of time —a degree of fleetness, 
perhaps, unequaled by any other horse. In 
the year 1745 the postmaster at Stretton rode 
on different horses on the road to and from 
London, no less than two hundred and fifteen 
miles, in eleven hours and a half- a rate of 
more than eighteen miles an hour ; and in 
July, 1788, a horse belonging to a gentleman 
of Bilter Square, London, was trotted for a 
wager, thirty miles in an hour and twenty- 
five minutes — a rate of more than twenty-one 



History OF the Horse. 13 

miles in an hour. In London there have been 
instarieeH of a single horse, drawing for a short 
distance, the weight of three tons, and some 
of tiie pack-horses of the North usuall}' carry 
burdens that weigh more than four hundred 
pounds. But the most remarkable proof of 
the strength of the British horse, is in their 
mill horses, some of which have been known 
to earry at one load thirteen measures of corn, 
that in the whole would aggregate more than 
nine hundred p:ainds in weight. Though en- 
dowed with vast strength and with great power 
of body, such is the disposition of the horse 
that he rarely exerts either against his master. 
Of] the contrary, he will endure fatigue even 
to death for our benetit. Providence seems 
to have implanted in him a kind disposition 
and fear of the human race, with, at the same 
time, a consciousness of the service he can 
render to man. 

We will here give one instance of his recol- 
lection of injury and his attempt to avenge it: 
A baronet owned a horse which had never 
tired in the longest chase, and he once thought 
he would try to completely fatigue him. Aiier 
a long chase therefore he dined, and again 



14 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

mounting, rode him furiously among the hills. 
When brought to the stable the animal ap- 
peared exhausted, and was scarcely able to 
walk. The groom, possessing more feeling 
than his brutal master, could not refrain from 
tears at the sight of so noble an animal thus 
sunk down. The baronet some time after- 
ward entered the stable, and the horse made 
a furious spring upon him, and, had not the 
groom interfered, would soon have put it out 
of his power of ever again misusing animals. 



Diseases of the Horse. 



SWEENY OF THE SHOULDER. 

This disease is of common occurrence, no 
age or condition of the horse or mule being 
exempt. Its cause may be traced to some 
severe strain at the to}> of the shoulder, sev- 
ering the scapula, or shoulder-blade, from its 
position at the top of the shoulder, where it is 
joined to the withers by a strong ligament. 
When this occurs the shoulder-blade drops 
down, giving the shoulder a hollow, shrunken 
appearance. 

Syniffoms, — As above stated, the shoulder 
will shrink aw^ay; the skin will, after a time, 
adhere closely to the bone, caused by high, 
local fever. The horse will step short and 
limp on the side affected; or, if both should- 
ers are diseased, he will be lame in both alike. 
When this is the case the animal travels with 
more ease up hill than down hill. There is a 
direct sympathy between the shoulders and 



1 6 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

the feet, consequently the animal will soon 
become diseased in the latter if the former is 
long neglected. Hence, the necessity of at 
once attacking the disease. 

The following symptoms are generally over- 
looked, but none are more clear to the experi- 
enced practitioner: The sweenied horse is un- 
willing to lie down, especially if both shoul- 
ders are diseased, but when completely worn 
out standing on his feet, he will come down 
suddenly to the ground. These symptoms 
clearly distinguish the sweenied horse from 
the foundered horse: The horse with the 
sweeny wears himself out standing on Ms feet^ 
while the foundered horse wears himself out 
lying down. The cause of the latter lying upon 
his side so much is to relieve his tender and 
fevered feet of the pain it gives him to stand 
upon them, xinother clear symptom, charac- 
teristic in the horse suffering with sweeny, is 
the shrinking or falling away of the muscles 
of the arm, which will finally disappear if the 
disease is allowed to run its course. 

Treatment. —The first thing to be done is to 
bring to the surface the inflamm stion and sore- 
ness already established in the shoulders. This 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 17 

can readily be done if the following directions 
are faithfully carried out. Apply the Pene- 
trating Liniment* once each day until four 
applications are made; then omit the use of 
the Liniment for four days, and then ap^ly it 
again. Bathe in the Liniment with hot iron 
held near, but not touching the skin. Kee]) 
this treatment up until the patient quits limp- 
ing, which will be from five to lifteen days. 
Apply the medicine to the aU'ectt^d ])art by 
means of a little mop or rag tied on the end 
of a stick. Thoroughly wet the hair ov^er the 
diseased parts, but should not be used so freely 
cis to run down on the sound parts. Every 
other dav the feet should b^ cleaned out, and 
if there should be any rotten or chalky appear- 
ance found there, dig this out and then wet 
the bottoms of the same with the Liniment, 
drving it in with hot iron. The skin of the 
shoulder should be rubbed with the hand and 
loosened daily during treatment. 

Grrease should always follow the use of the 
Penetrating Liniment, as it will prevent a re- 
moval of the hair and the scarf skin, but never 
the true skin if followed with plenty of grease. 

*' See formula in another place. 



i8 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

The hair will grow out again and will have 
its original color, without any disfiguration of 
any kind, [f the fever is high, or the condi- 
tion of the patient is bad, bleed at the com- 
mencement of the treatment, from the jugu- 
lar, or neck vein, taking three quarts of blood. 
This will reduce the fever, and will hasten 
a cure. 

Some modern horse doctors have con- 
demned bleeding as barbarous, and altogether 
unnecessary. However, experience is a cor- 
rect teacher, and one easily understood. Some 
of these so-called horse doctors who object to 
bleeding, will inflate the skin of the shoulder 
with air, and will recommend the use of polk- 
root and arsenic being inserted into the dis- 
eased parts, for sweeny, fistula, and poll -evil, 
and will also cut out the haw, or hook, from 
the eye to cure the inflammation commonly 
called hooks, as though the wise Creator had 
failed in his work, and that man could better 
it. But we will dismiss the subject for the 
present by saying that the author has been 
bleeding horses regularly for a period of 
twenty years, and has never seen any of the 
bad effects ascribed to bleeding, but has seen 



Diseases of the Horse. 19 

his patients grow stronger from the eom- 
meneement. 

BIG SHOULDER. 

This forniiilable disease is nearly always 
the result, or outgrowth, of a long-neglected 
case of sweeny, or the final development of 
big head and big jaw, and is never permanently 
cured, but can be patched up. The fever and 
soreness can be cured, and the animal re- 
turned to the duty of the draught horse, but 
is wholly unreliable under the saddle ; his 
shoulder will always remain out of shape. 

Symptoms. — The top of the shoulders per- 
ish away ; the shoulders near the lower ends 
grow larger, and, from sheer weakness, pitch 
forward The sternum, or breast bone, that 
keeps the points of the shoulders in position 
when the animal is in health, no longer serves 
that purpose. The patient can no longer 
keep his fore feet apart, but will cross them 
while standing. When the disease has reached 
this stage, no treatment will do him any good. 

Treatment.— T\ie treatment is essentially 
the same as that just laid down for sweeny of 
the shoulder. 



20 



THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 



SWEENY OF THE HIP. 

The author acknowledges to have had but 
little personal knowledge of this disease, but in 
almost every instance, when called upon to 
treat horses said to be afflicted with this dis- 
ease, has found the trodlde to be in the stifle- 
joint. The high, local fever and soreness of 
this joint causes the hip to shrink. For this 
reason, ])ersons are led to the conclusion that 
it is hip sweeny. 

Treatment. — Treat as for stifle. 

SLIPPED, OR BROKEN Hit . 

For these injuries of the horse we know of 
no permanent cure; the unfortunate owner 
can do no better than accept the situation, for 
no veterinary surgeon can reset the dislocated 
or broken ])arts, and cause them to remain in 
position. A few weeks' rest, with an occa- 
sional application of the renetrating Lini- 
ment to th^^ aifected part, is ali that can be 
<lone. This injury seldom materially injures 
the horse, though his hip is disfigured for life. 

STIFLE. 

Stifle-joint lameness is always brought on 
by the horse getting his foot confined in some 



Diseases of the Horse. h 

false position which wrenches the stifle-joint. 
Such trouble may arise from a lick or blow at 
this joint. To say that the stifle-joint was ne v^er 
dislocated would be to diifer from many persons 
whom the author has met in his practice. 
Nevertheless, it is true, the patella, or knee- 
cap, covering this bone (answering to the 
knee-cap in man), is sometimes displaced, but 
the joint is never dislocated. Persons who 
hold to the idea that the joint is dislocated, 
when called on f<»r their own exi)erience have 
had to acknowledge that their opinion was 
founded upon what they had heard from 
others, who, doubtless, had had no experience 
of their own. 

Si/mptoms.— The stifled horse is always very 
lame -so much so as to almost refuse to put 
his foot to the ground on the affected side. 
The animal will lini}) much worse while trav- 
eling up hill than down or on level ground. 
He will rest the foot by placing the toe on the 
ground, and if exercised severely, there will 
be frequent twitchings of the muscles at the 
stifle-joint. The muscles of the hi}) will 
shrink away, caused from the local fever in 
the stifle-joint, which leads to the conclusion 



22 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

that the animal is afflicted with hip sweeny. 
Cure the stifle when the above symptoms are 
present; the muscles of the hip wall fill out, 
when the patient can return to duty again. 

Treatment. — Make one application to the 
stifle-joint with the Penetrating Liniment 
every second day until three applications are 
made, then discontinue treatment for four 
days ; then apply Liniment again as before, 
and continue the treatment as above until the 
patient quits limping. If an old, standing case 
the treatment will require several days, and per- 
haps weeks, to effect a permanent cure ; but if 
above treatment is faithfully carried out, the 
animal will be restored to health. The cruel 
practice recommended by some, of tying a 
rope to the horse's foot and confining the 
other end to a tree or post, and then f<jrcing 
him by the whip to run the length of the rope 
for the purpose of pulling the joint into place ; 
or by putting on a stifle-shoe, as is frequently 
practiced ; or cording the opposite leg to force 
the suffering animal to throw his weight on 
the injured member, are all unnecessary. If 
the patella, already referred to, should be out 
of place, follow the directions above given, and 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 23 

when the inflammation is reduced, the swollen 
joint will also be reduced. The patella will 
resume its place again, and nature will do 
the rest, if the horse is allowed unbroken 
rest. But if forced to hard labor, the owner 
will soon find the disease permanently estab- 
lished, which will defy the skill of the best 
practitioner for all time to come. 

Th<' author can not leave this chapter, or 
subject, without warning horsemen of the fre= 
quent abuse that is practiced so often in driving 
our faithful servant, the horse, while suffering 
from disease of any kind. It is foolishness, 
to say the least of it, that a horse, suffering 
from disease of any kind, is better off by being 
worked. If such unfeeling horsemen were 
placed in the situation of their suffering horse, 
they would soon learn to have that mercy the 
divine law requires. 

BONE SPAVIN. 

Bone spavin first makes its appearance on 
the inside of the hind leg, a short distance 
below the hock joint, and is considered by 
many incurable, which conclusion is correct, 
if allowed to run its course without treat- 



24 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

ment. But as long as the enlargement is be- 
low the hock joint, and is confined to the 
splint, or inner shank bone, it is curable, but 
when the entire hock joint is involved and 
swollen, then it is labor and medicine thrown 
away to further treat the case. 

Cause. — The cause of this sad affliction is a 
severe strain from hard work or riding, and 
not unfrequentiy from a blow or lick, which 
starts the extra growth at the head of the 
bone, which is very soft at that point. High 
fever sets in at once ; the entire hock joint 
suffers, and sometimes swells inordinately. 
Sometimes the horse will be very lame before 
the lump is visible, which will frequently puz- 
zle the practitioner no little to diagnose the 
disease. One plain feature in the spavined 
horse is whether the enlargement visible to the 
eye is cause of his lameness in starting off after 
rest. But after a time, when he is warmed 
up by exercise, he will travel as smoothly as 
if nothing ailed him. 

Treatment. — By no means allow the knot 
removed by chipping off with chisel or other 
instrument, as is frequently done. Such 
treatment will do no good, but will only in- 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 25 

crease the soreness and inflammation, and will 
hasten a fatal termination, or establish an in- 
curable case Better do nothing at all than 
to make such a mistake. The author can not 
condemn with too strong' language the burn- 
ing with hot iron, as is frequently the case, as 
it always increases the inflammation and makes 
the case worse. 

Apply to the affected part the Penetrating 
Liniment every day for six days ; bathe in 
with a hot iron. Omit treatment for four 
days, then resume again. If this treatment 
shoU'd fail to effect a cure within fifteen or 
twenty days, the Iodide of Mercury Ointment 
should be substituted. This should be applied 
every eighth day to the diseased parts ; rub it 
well into the hair. As soon as a blister is 
raised, or the parts become sore, dress or 
anoint with lard. The practitioner must be 
patient and persevering. These bony en- 
largements are obstinate to remove, and are 
slow to yield to treatment of any kind. 

SPLINT. 

This disease is similar to bone spavin, both 
being an extra growth of bone, but differing 
3 



36 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

in location and severity. Splint yields readily 
to treatment, while spavin, as already stated, 
is obstinate. Splint generally makes its ap- 
pearance on the inside of the fore leg ; it is 
seldom found on the hind leg, and is generally 
so remote from the joint that it is seldom in- 
volved. Splint is caused by a blow or lick ; 
sometimes by being struck with the calk of the 
shoe on the opposite foot. 

Treatment. ^-K few applications of Penetrat- 
ing Liniment will remove the soreness and 
drive away the inflammation within a few days. 
If the joint is not involved, further treatment 
is unnecessary. The lumps on the leg will 
soon disappear. But if the joint should be- 
come involved and the horse is lame, treat as 
for spavin. Splint knots, unless very near 
the joint, or some strong ligament, will usu- 
ally pass aw^ay of themselves between the age 
of eight and twelve years. 

ENLARGED HOCK. 

This unsightly and sometimes obstinate dis- 
ease is caused by the horse kicking against 
the stall or some other hard-like substance, or 
by excessive pulling, which would be likely to 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE, 27 

be followed by inflammation and lameness, 
which may continue but a short time. In 
this stage of the disease a free use of warm 
salt water as a bath and a few days' rest may 
suffi(5e for treatment, but if enlargement con- 
tinues, and lameness should not pass away 
within three or four days under the above- 
named treatment, the Penetrating Liniment 
should be used precisely in the same manner 
as directed for bone spavin. The hot iron may 
be dispensed with, unless the enlargement be- 
comes hard or bony. 

RIMG BONE. 

Ring-bone is a disease of the foot, caused 
by a severe strain or bruise, and first makes 
its appearance just above the hoof, at the 
point where the hair and hoof meet. It often 
causes great lameness before the disease can 
be detected by the eye. After a time it shows 
itself at the point designated, frequently mak- 
ing such headway that it completely encircles 
the foot within a very short time, spreads the 
top of the foot out of its natural shape, and 
finally ends in club foot, which no remedy will 
permanently cure. When the disease first 



28 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

makes its appear^^nce at the top of the hoof, 
then is the golden opportunity to attack the 
disease, which should be done by applying the 
Penetrating Liniment daily for six days; then 
omit treatment for four days, then resume 
treatment as before. Keep this treatment up 
until the extra growth is checked and the 
patient travels better; then change the treat- 
ment from daily application to every second 
day, until three applications are made ; then 
omit treatment for six days, then resume again. 
The length of time to effect a cure will vary 
in different cases. Generally four weeks will 
fully test this treatment. However, the prac- 
titioner will find in many cases decided im- 
provement within fifteen or twenty days. If 
the above-named treatment should fail, the 
Iodide of Mercury Ointment should be used 
as directed for bone spavin. Another treat- 
ment comes to me from high authority that I 
have confidence in, it having been tried suc- 
cessfully in this community, which is as fol- 
lows: Puncture the enlargement Avith an awl, 
or Some other sharp instrument, in a number 
of places; then apply Tincture of Iodine with 
small mop twice per day until there is consid- 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 29 

erable soreness ; then stop the treatment until 
the soreness gives way, then resume treatment 
as before, and continue as above until the dis= 
ease is removed. 

BIG HEAD AND BIG JAW. 

This disease is claimed to be exclusively 
American, and is far more common in the 
Southern than in the Northern States, and is 
much oftener met with in that portion of coun- 
try where the water is destitute of lime, though 
occasionallv met with throus^hout the countrv. 
Old horses are more subject t(> the disease 
than the young, though no age or condition 
are wholly exempt from this disease. 

Cause.— Yqv want of lime in the water dur= 
ing colthood while the bones are developing 
we believe to be the first cause, or foundation 
laid for the future development of big head 
and big jaw. While this disease first makes 
its appearance in the bones of the head and 
jaw, we should not be led to the conclusion 
that the disease is confined there, for the expe- 
rienced practitioner knows that the animal 
troubled with this disease will soon break 
down all over. He will break down first in 



30 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

one leg, then in another, and finally gets stiff 
all over. His skin will adhere to the bone, as 
in hide-bound, which proves conclusively that 
instead of the disease being local and confined 
to the head and jaw it is general. 

Another cause, and perhaps the greatest of 
all, is the abuse of the animal after he is put 
to service. His energies are apt to be over- 
taxed by hard work, his feed too often is dry 
corn and fodder, which are heating in their 
tendencies, and will greatly hasten develop- 
ment of the disease. Horses allowed to run 
on a good pasture are seldom afflicted with 
this disease. 

Symptoms. — The disease first makes its ap- 
pearance on the frontal bone of the face, and 
also the under jaw. It can be readily de- 
tected in its first stage. Run the thumb up 
in the corner of the mouth to the roots of the 
under jaw teeth, and if there is any enlarge- 
ment, or swelling, of the under jaw-bone at 
that point, better commence treatment at 
once for big head. The teeth are on a per- 
pendicular line with the under jaw-bone of 
the sound horse. The skin and muscles of 
the head and face become fixed so that they 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 31 

will not move when the lips are pulled. After 
a time the horse will become lame in one leg 
and then in the other, and later will become 
diseased all over, and so stiff that he can not 
get up when he lies down. This disease 
breaks down the entire frame-work to such a 
degree that long before the animal becomes 
prostrated, he can not rise at will. He will 
rise to his feet by first getting on his hind 
feet and come up then with his fore parts, 
which is the reverse to the natural way of ris- 
ing to his feet. His excrements will be hard, 
black, and dry, and voided with difficulty. 
The skin will adhere closely to the ribs ; the 
hair will look dry and bristling ; the appetite 
will remain good ; he will relish dry corn more 
than in health, sometimes refusing all other 
feed. The very thing that has contributed 
largely in the development of his disease is 
the only thing now that he is most anxious to 
eat. 

Treatment. — Bleeding is indispensable ; take 
three quarts or one gallon of blood from the 
neck vein at commencement of treatment, and 
ten days later repeat the bleeding, taking 
about three quarts of blood. Then apply th^ 



32 THE FARMER 'S HORSE BOOK. 

Penetrating Liniment every other day until 
six or eight applications have been made to 
the enlargement on the frontal bone of the 
face and under jaw. Thoroughly wet the 
hair with the Liniment, after which dry it in 
with a hot iron held near, but not touching 
the skin. Omit treatment for live days, then 
resume again. Keep up this course of treat- 
ment as long as necessary, which will be from 
three to six weeks. Better continue treatment 
longer than might be necessary rather than 
stop too soon, as a relapse would prove worse 
than the first attack. In connection with the 
above treatment give Renovating Powders, 
one table-spoonful, or more, each day until all 
symptoms of lameness and stiffness have 
passed away, and the skin is loosened and 
the hair takes on that appearance it should 
have in health. The bowels should be kept 
in a healty condition by the free use of the 
Renovating Powders for at least two months, 
for the purpose of eradicating the disease en- 
tirely from the system. The practitioner 
will know more about the success he is having 
in the treatment of the case from the state of 
the bowels than from any other means. After 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 33 

the constipated state of the bowels has been 
removed, and the excrement changed to a 
soft and a healthy, yellow appearance, the 
practitioner may consider his patient doing 
well, and all that is necessary is to continue 
the use of the remedies above named. 

Examine the bottoms of the feet, for by this 
time the raging fever may have rotted the 
feet. If so, they will have a rotten, chalky 
appearance, which should all be removed with 
chisel, or other like instrument, until the 
sound part is reached ; then thoroughly wet 
them with the Penetrating Liniment, drying it 
in with hot iron. This treatment should be 
kept up twice per week until the feet become 
sound. 

By no means should the animal be worked 
during treatment nor while convalescent, as a 
hard drive or other exercise will be liable to 
bring a relapse, which condition will be worse 
than the first. The patient should be well 
housed from inclement weather, but during 
fair weather give him the run of a good past- 
ure. Exclude all heating or stimulating food, 
such as dry corn and fodder. If the above 
treatment is faithfully carried out, it will per- 



34 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

manently cure evei'v case of this disease, but 
if neglected too long, until the shoulders be- 
come enlarged at the humerous joint, or point 
of the shoulder, and shrunken at the top, as in 
big shoukler, this disfiguration is never re- 
moved, though the disease is entirely eradi- 
cated from the system. 

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 

When a horse's eyes become diseased it is 
oenerallv considered that it is all over with 
him ; he will go blind. We will first exam- 
ine into the cause of so many horses going- 
blind. Ill usage and bad stable management 
in many instances ; both are prolific in gener- 
ating disease, and work fearful consequences 
to eyesight; but, perhaps, a still more serious 
evil is the deficiency of light, which is essen- 
tial to the eye. It is not strange, therefore, 
that the eye suffers when deprived of the 
light, which is its natural element. Chronic 
diseases, especially founder and distemper, 
help to aggravate any unfavorable condition 
of the eye. But few horses would have dis- 
eased eyes if kept in the open air and fed on 
proper diet. The wonder is that so few 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 35 

horses go blind, which are kept on dry and 
heating feed. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE, OR HOOKS. 

Many persons doubt the existence of hooks. 
No hooks nor any thing else grow in the 
horse's eyes that do not belong there. The 
washer, as it is commonly called, is a little 
triangular-shaped cartilage within the inner 
corner of the eye, a small portion only visible. 
The washer, or haw, serves the valuable pur- 
pose to throw oif any foreign substance that 
might find its way into the eye, as dust, flies, 
or gnats. Inflammation of the haw generally 
proceeds from fever, accompanied by swelling 
of the haw to such a degree that it sometimes 
protrudes from its place under the lids, much 
to the annovance of the horse. A barbarous 
and useless practice is in vogue of cutting away 
these lumps from the eye with a knife. After 
such treatment the eyes frequesitly go out, 
and if this does not occur, the horse suffers 
therefrom the remainder of his life. The eye- 
ball is ever afterward exposed to the dust and 
whatever may lodge on it, with no means of 
throwing it off. 



36 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

Treatment. — When it is ascertained that the 
horse is troubled with hooks, whether it be 
called ^' fatty hooks" or ^'bonv hooks," the 
eye-wash recommended in this work is all that 
will be needed to put in the eye. Bleed at 
commencement of treatment, taking three 
quarts of blood, and ten days later, if the eyes 
are not improved, bleed again, taking two 
quarts of blood. If the haw is projected from 
its place, put a twitch on the horse's n<>se, and 
while he is being held by an assistant, scarify 
the haw with a sharp knife, or lance, until it 
bleeds, and apply freely the eye-wash morning, 
noon, and night. The hooks will soon disap- 
pear, and the horse will be as sound as ever. 
Under no consideration allow the knife used 
to cut out the hooks. 

HOOF ROT. 

As the name implies, this is a diseased 
state of the bottoms of the feet. 

Cause — Sometimes hoof rot is the fruit of 
bad shoeino-; sometimes bv h/ttiifo: the shoe 
remain on his feet too \o\\g\ sometimes by 
sweeny or spavin, or other febrile complaint 
of long standing; or from suifering the animal 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 37 

to stand through the h)ng winter months in a 
stable on a bed of damp and decaying manure. 
If the horseman would have his horse's feet al= 
ways sound never suifer him to stand on any 
other fluor than the cool, dry ground. 

Spn])toms. — The animal walks as though he 
was sweenied — steps short and limps, and 
while standing is continually putting forward 
the diseased foot, or feet, to relieve them of 
the burden and pain it gives him to stand on 
them. The feet have a dry, pumiced, or chalky 
appearance, which is easily dug out with knife 
or chisel, and will have a very offensive smell. 
Sometimes the ankles are swollen after stand- 
ing for some time. 

Treatment, —ThoYoughlj clean out the bot- 
toms of the feet of all rotten and decayed mat- 
ter, and use the Penetrating Liniment on the 
feet as directed in disease of big head and big 
jaw. 

N.AVICULAR DISEASE. 

This is a disease of the feet, and has given 
the practitioner much trouble by reason of its 
symptoms, resembling symptoms of other foot 
diseases. Usually it is slow in its external 



3^ THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

developments, by reason of its being so deep 
seated. For a while the animal is lame ; after 
a time the lameness passes off, but in a few 
days returns ■Agm.w. In the meantime, the 
disease is establishing itself in the horse's 
feet. 

Causes.— Y^Q navicular joint is liable to in= 
juries from traveling over rough roads, or on 
frozen ground, often bruising the frog of the 
foot, from which fever and inflammation arises, 
causing great lameness. Sometimes an abscess 
is formed and will break and run for weeks, 
and sometimes for months. When this occurs 
there is a hope of the animal recovering, 
though this will be slow, and the anxious 
owner must patiently wait. Frequently this 
disease takes an entirely different turn. The 
navicular bone becomes diseased ; the frog be- 
comes diminished in size, and the back part 
of the foot begins to contract, or close, by com- 
ing together. Then we have what is fa- 
miliarly known as narrow heel. Finally it 
runs into club foot, which is incurable. 

Treatment.— ^o treatment will be of any value 
unless an outward development of the disease 
is brought about. This can sometimes be 



Diseases of the Horse. 39 

done, and often it can not. Apply the Pene- 
trating Liniment to the heel and back part of 
the foot ; also to the bottom and frog of the 
foot. Make the application of the Liniment 
every other day — bathing in with a hot iron — 
until the horse is well. This treatment is in- 
tended to bring the matter to the surface. 
When this is done, and it breaks and begins to 
run, your horse is safe ; the cure is only a ques- 
tion of time. If the horse is in bad condition, 
bleed him at the commencement of the treat- 
ment, and give one table-spoonful of the Reno- 
vating Powder every second day until half a 
pound has been given. 

Give the horse comfortable quarters during 
cold weather and chilling rains, and keep him 
on a dry floor for six or eight hours after the 
Liniment has been applied, as mud and water 
will destroy the effects of the Liniment. 

FOUNDER. 

The first cause of founder is the diseased 
condition of the feet, which is aggravated by 
eating and drinking excessively. In an ex- 
perience of twenty years the author has not 
met with a case of founder without diseased 



40 THE FARMER 'S HORSE BOOK. 

feet. If the feet were not diseased the horse 
might be very sick from overeating or drink- 
ing, as is often the case. But when relieved 
of this trouble he will not be lame. 

Symptoms. — The horse becomes restless, 
shifts his fore feet, steps short, and limps as in 
sweeny, but one mark or symptom always 
pointing out founder from that of sweeny is 
the foundered horse spends almost all his 
time lying down, which gives relief to his 
tender feet, while the sweenied horse spends 
most of his time standing on his feet, as it 
gives him pain in the effort to lie down. The 
foundered horse is very lame, especially in his 
fore feet, and not unfrequently in the hind feet. 
His back is roached up, the hind and fore feet 
are almost drawn together; he will not move 
unless forced to do so. When Ivin^* down he 
repeatedly grunts, and places his nose on his 
feet, thus pointing out the locality of his suf- 
fering. His pulse is very high, running up to 
75 or 80. 

Treatment. — As the fever has by this time 
dried up the blood, and caused it to be thick 
and sluggish, it is essentially necessary to 
bleed freely from the neck vein. This is the 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 41 

best remedy to at once reduce the fever and 
relieve the inflammation. Give the patient 
fifteen drops of Tincture of Aconite every four 
hours until three doses are given. Bathe the 
feet and legs with strong salt water as hot as 
the horse can bear it ; do this every two 
hours for the first twenty-four hours. In ad- 
dition to the bathing, give the horse a drench 
of one quart of warm salt water at commence- 
ment of treatment ; also examine the bottom 
of his feet, and give them the treatment given 
under hoof rot. Take a sharp knife and split 
the little knots found in the fetlocks, or back 
part of the ankle, both on the hind and fore 
legs ; let them bleed freely ; this will give al- 
most instant relief. Also wet the hair with 
the Penetrating Liniment at the point where 
the hoof and hair meet once each day for 
three days. But the treatment for the bottom 
of the feet must be continued until cured. If 
the above treatment is energetically and faith- 
fully carried out, the horse will recover in 
three or four days, and can be returned to 
moderate labor not a whit worse than be- 
fore. 

Some of the bad effects will follow in the 
4 



42 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

wake of the disease, so commonly found where 
founder was allowed to run its course. 



CONTRACTION OF THE HOOF, OR NARROW 

HEEL. 

It is a common opinion among horsemen 
that contraction of the hoof is the result of 
bad shoeing ; this we think is a mistake. If 
it were so, the trouble Avould occur oftener 
than it does, for the horse that is kept con- 
stantly shod seldom suffers with narrow heel. 
This is not properly a disease, but is the re- 
sult of a diseased state of the feet. So long 
as the frog and other parts of the bottom of the 
feet are in a healthy condition, the horny, or 
outside, part of the foot will remain in posi- 
tion ; but when the other parts of the foot be- 
come diseased, the frog will also become dis- 
eased and shrink away, allowing the outside 
parts at the heel to come together. The 
author has no confidence in any manner of 
shoeing recommended as a cure for narrow 
heel. Cure the disease that caused it, and 
narrow heel will pass away. 



Diseases oe the horse. 43 

INJURIES TO THE FROG, OR STONE-BRUISE. 

The frog is the central portion of the foot, 
located at the back of the foot, making a part 
of the heel. It is spongy and elastic, suscep- 
tible to injuries from many causes. It is often 
injured by traveling over stony roads and 
frozen ground and pierced with nails. When 
this occurs, fever and soreness arises, termi- 
nating very often in deep-seated and obstinate 
ulcers. Pare otf with a sharp knife the out- 
side of the frog. If any dark spots or bruises 
are visible, apply the Penetrating Liniment 
thereto once each day for three or four days ; 
and if nothing worse than a bruise on the 
frog your horse will be well in a few days. 

CORNS. 

The author claims that during his practice 
he has never found, among the diseases of 
horses' feet, any thing he could rightly term 
corns, but when called upon to treat such, the 
so-called corns were the fruits of bad shoeing 
or from sutfering the shoe to remain on too 
long, or from some other abuse or neglect, out 
of which many of the diseases of the feet are 



44 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

brought about, as hoof rot, narrow heel, ring- 
bone, navicular disease, etc. 

Treatment. — The horse's feet should be ex- 
amined by removing the shoe and paring 
down the outside of the hoof — cleaning out 
the sole, as directed in hoof rot. If there 
should be any appearance of blood-shot, or 
tenderness, which is usually found when the 
trouble is pronounced corns, a few applications 
of the Penetrating Liniment, drying in with a 
hot iron, will usually set matters right, but if 
the trouble results from some other disease of 
the feet, treat the patient for such disease, 
found in this work under its proper name. 

GLANDERS, 

The attention of the horseman is now called 
to one of the most troublesome diseases found 
in our country, and by some practitioners con- 
sidered incurable. This is true when the dis- 
ease is so far advanced that cancerous ulcers 
are formed in the nose of the horse to any 
great extent, especially if very high up in the 
nostril. Until this stage of the disease is 
reached, the horse can be successfullv treated 
and permanently cured. 



Diseases of the Horse. 45 

Cause. — This is a contagious disease, differ- 
ing somewhat from distemper. While dis- 
temper is contracted at a great distance, gh\n- 
ders is never communicated except by coming 
in contact with the virus, or discharge from 
the nose. This is done by horses being fed 
in the same box, or by grazing on the same 
ground, wearing the same harness, being con- 
fined in the same stall, or confined to the 
same hitching rack, for whenever the glan- 
dered horse is permitted to stand any length 
of time he will leave some of the poison virus, 
which, coming in contact with the nose of the 
sound horse, will readily communicate the 
disease. 

Symptoms. — These are very obscure. In the 
first stage of the disease the horse will dis- 
charge from his left nostril a thin and almost 
clear matter,and as the disease advances the dis- 
charge will become thick and of a waxy consist- 
ency, changing to a darker color, and when ad- 
vanced to the last stage will be mixed with 
blood from the cancerous ulcers found in the 
nose. He will soon lose flesh, his hair will 
lose its glossy appearance, the hide will ad- 
here closely to the ribs, the patient will be 



46 THE FARMER '5 HORSE BOOK. 

easily fatigued, his breathing will be hard, 
and he will be continually snorting to free his 
nostrils of the accumulating virus. The rea- 
son why the discharge from the nose is, in al- 
most every case, at the commencement of the 
disease confined to the left nostril has never 
been satisfactorily explained; nevertheless it 
is true whenever the pus, or virus, is commu- 
nicated to the glands of the throat and jaw 
they become inflamed and enlarged on the 
side from which the nostril is discharging. If 
the discharge is from both nostrils the glands 
on both sides of the jaw will be affected alike. 
These affected glands will adhere closely to 
the jaw on the affected side. The membrane 
of the nose will have a dark, leaden color, 
sometimes changing to a red color, caused by 
the inflammation ; finally its color will be of a 
purple tinge. Small ulcers, having a circular 
form, will begin to make their appearance on 
the membrane of the nose ; their outer edge 
will be prominent. 

After the disease has advanced thus far the 
constitution of the horse has become much im- 
paired. His hair, as already spoken of, is not 
only dead and bristly, but actually falling off. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 47 

His appetite fails, his cough increases, the 
discharge from his nose augments and be- 
comes very offensive to smell, the ulcers will 
increase both in size and number, and his 
breathing can now be heard a considerable 
distance. The horse coughs but little in the 
first stage of the glanders, but increases as 
the disease advances. 

Treatment. — The first thing is to bleed — 
take one gallon of blood ; follow this by a 
drench composed of one pint of weak tobacco 
juice, given warm. If this is used too freely 
it will make him very sick, but there is not 
much danger of killing him while in this con- 
dition. Prepare a mop by tying a piece of 
cloth on the end of a stick, dip it into a weak 
decoction of tobacco and thoroughly wash out 
the horse's nostrils as high up as can be done. 

Keep up this treatment from twenty to 
forty days, or as long as the case requires. 
Use the mop in the nose for eight or ten days. 
The drench should be administered every 
third or fourth day until four drenches are 
given. Grive one or two table-spoonfuls of the 
Renovating Powders every day for twelve 
days. 



48 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

Notwithstanding this disease is contagious, 
many writers say that bad stabling, damp lo- 
calities, close and crowded stalls will produce 
it. The author can not, from personal knowl- 
edge, exactly agree with those writers, but he 
knows that such unfavorable circumstances 
will greatly aggravate the disease, hasten its 
development, and prevent a cure; hence the ne- 
cessity of keeping the patient in comfortable 
quarters. His stall should be neither too 
close nor too open, but w^ell ventilated. Pro- 
tect the patient from all inclement weather, 
from cold and chilly rains, and from the blasts 
and snows of winter ; feed him on light and 
relaxing diet regularly while under treatment 
and during convalescence. As soon as the 
disease is detected separate him from all other 
horses to quarters of his own. Do not shoot 
him, as is often the case, but set about at once 
to doctor him. If the above directions are 
judiciously carried out a cure may be expected 
in every case in the first stage of the disease. 

Preventive. — The first thing to be done, as 
already stated, is to separate the diseased 
horse from the others, and keep them sepa- 
rate until all traces of the disease in the dis- 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 49 

eased horse is removed ; then set about to 
wash and scour the stalls, the manger, the 
harness — in fact, every thing upon which the 
diseased horse could have deposited any of 
the poison virus from his nostrils. The wash 
used in cleansing the parts above named of 
infection should be strongly impregnated with 
soap and tobacco. After this thoroughly 
rinse off the parts with a preparation of chlo- 
ride of lime prepared as follows : One quart of 
the chloride to six gallons of water. This 
cleansing should be repeated two or three 
times. The stall should be well fumigated 
with tobacco smoke and burning sulphur. The 
stalls should be well cleaned out before us- 
ing the above preparations. Better burn the 
harness, bridle, blanket, etc., than to run the 
risk of the disease spreading by using them 
on the healthy horse. 

DISTEMPER. 

This is another disease of the glands, 
though differing very materially from that of 
glanders, both in location and severity, for 
while the glandered horse suffers from can- 
cerous ulcers, both of the gland membranes of 



50 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

the nose, the distempered horse suffers from 
an inflamed condition of the salivary glands, 
situated near the root of the tongue. This 
disease is highly contagious and can be com- 
municated some distance through the air. 
The young horse is more often troubled with 
this disease than the aged, yet no age is 
exempt. 

Symptoms. — The first symptoms are run- 
ning at the nose of a slimy whitish water, re- 
sembling very much the white of an egg, 
which will increase in quantity and thickness 
as the disease progresses. The animal will 
have a dry and troublesome cough, which will 
also increase with the disease. 

Soon swelling of the throat comes on, and, 
if not arrested, will, within a few days, either 
prove fatal, or break and run, after which the 
horse will usually recover. 

These symptons are accompanied with high 
fever and sometimes swelling of the sheath. 

Treatment. — The first thing to be done is to 
bleed in the neck vein — extracting half a gal- 
lon of blood, when the disease is in a mild 
type. But if the throat is much SAVoUen, and 
the fever very high, take one gallon of blood. 



Diseases of the horse. 51 

Prepare a decoction of tobacco, and bathe his 
jaws, throat, neck, and breast with it. Let this 
bath be as warm as the horse can bear it. Do 
this three times each day, continuing each time 
for at least an hour. 

Apply the Penetrating Liniment once every 
day for two days, to the swollen parts. Then 
thoroughly mix together two table-spoonfuls 
of gum powder, one of lard, one of soft soap, 
two of pine tar, and one of finely pulverized 
gum myrrh. 

Dose. — One table-spoonful should be placed 
on the root of the horse's tongue, morning, 
noon, and night, for four or five days, or until 
the cough subsides and the swelling is reduced. 
The object of this is to stimulate the throat 
and give general relief. Some persons smoke 
their horse severely with tar and feathers, a 
practice we by no means condemn as useless 
or cruel, for this treatment will often increase 
the discharge from the nose and may prolong 
the forming of an abscess in the throat ; yet, 
this kind of treatment is too uncertain to be 
wholly depended upon, while other treatments 
more certain and equally as simple can be em- 
ployed, which will carry the horse success- 



52 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

fully through the disease, leaving none of the 
chronic troubles that so often follow Ustemper 
to be treated in after months, and perhaps 
years. Instead of difficult breathing, contin- 
ued coughing, diseased and inflamed eyes, that 
are so difficult to cure, the animal can be re- 
turned to his former duties, not a whit worsted 
by the disease. 

An Illustrated Case, — Two years ago M. L. 
Grissom, of Sardis, Tenn., who is one of my 
neighbors, had in his charge for the crop sea- 
son a valuable young horse that had some 
months previous had distemper, and had not 
been properly treated for the disease. The 
author was called upon to visit and treat the 
case, which he did at the commencement of 
treatment, and then left him in the hands of 
Mr. Grissom, who faithfully carried out the 
treatment according to directions for two 
weeks or more. The horse im])roved all the 
time. Soon his appetite returned, his coat 
resumed its former glossy appearance as in 
health, his vital energies were restored, al- 
though at commencement of treatment, and 
for some weeks previous he could be distinctly 
heard breathing a distance of tAventy-five or 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 53 

thirty yards, which was in a few months 
scarely noticeable. He was soon put to the 
plow, and made a full hand all the year and 
improved all the time, although he was for 
some weeks previous to treatment a downright 
nuisance on his owner's hands. He traded 
him in a few months for a full, round price. 
The treatment was identically the same as 
laid down above for distemper. For a pre- 
ventive and disinfectant, folloAv the direction 
given for glanders for the same purpose — that 
is, to keep the disease from spreading. 

NASAL GLEET. 
This disease is nothing more nor less than 
a species of chronic distemj^er, without the 
fever, as is always in distemper, and like dis- 
temper in the discharge from the nose, and 
generally partakes of the color of the feed. 
If on green pasture, its color will be green ; 
if on oats or corn, it will be yellow. This is 
caused by the food passing into the nostrils, 
through the nasal cavities, for these cavities 
have become enlarged from the disease. The 
water Avill also pass through them while the 
horse is drinking, especially if the position of 



54 THE l^ARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

the head is low. If the horse is in bad condi- 
tion the chances for his recovery are not good, 
but if the reverse, the practitioner may at- 
tack the disease with the assurance of the 
disease yielding to treatment, though he should 
remember that it will take time and patience 
for its accomplishment. 

Treatment — The treatment is the same 
given for distemper, except the bathing of the 
throat with the Penetrating Liniment, as there 
is now no danger of abscess forming there, 
but as it has now taken a chronic form the 
treatment will be prolonged. 

FARCY. 

The author has had but little experience in 
treating this disease. He regards it as an ad- 
vanced stage of glanders, and generally proves 
very obstinate to yield to treatment. How- 
ever, if the horse is young his chances are 
much better for recovery. 

Symptoms. — The blood having already be- 
come poisoned, it is diffused through the 
system, makes its appearance on the surface 
in small ulcers, which will soon discharge a 
fluid of a watery consistency, which is yellow 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 55 

in color. In process of time the discharges 
will be mixed with blood, and will be very 
offensive to the smell. These pustules make 
their appearance on the legs, shoulder, and 
neck — sometimes to greater and sometimes to 
a less degree. Sometimes only a part of the 
legs are involved, sometimes none of them, 
and will appear only on the neck or shoulder. 
This is another contagious disease, and to 
prevent its spreading the patient should be 
isolated from other animals that are sound. 
Many persons, unacquainted with farcy as de- 
scribed above, might be led to the conclusion 
that common "surfeit," which will be treated 
of in its proper place, is almost incurable. 
Surfeit is often pronounced farcy by the un- 
learned. The treatment is the same as for 
glanders. 

BLIND STAGGERS. 

Cause and Symptoyns. — This disease is com- 
mon in the Southern States, and is confined 
almost exclusivelv to the corn-fed horse. The 
horse that has access to a good pasture is sel- 
dom troubled with blind staggers. He is not at- 
tacked by this disease so much from the quan- 
tity of food as the quality. The worm dust 



56 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

or excrement, so commonly found on corn in 
the Southern States, is the cause of the dis- 
ease in every case that has come under the 
observation of the author. The s[)ecies of worm 
referred to inhabits the covering or shuck of 
the corn, while it is maturing on the stalk. 

When the corn becomes matured the worms 
leave it, but leave behind them the poisonous 
excrement on the corn, to be inhaled by the 
horse while eating. It finds a lodgment at 
the outlet of the lachrymal ducts, which are 
situated a short distance up the nose and on 
the back part of it. 

These ducts are provided by nature as an 
outlet for the escape of the water from the 
eyes after it has performed its office there. 
They become infianied from the effects of the 
dust at their outlets, which extends upward 
until the entire ducts are swollen inordinately, 
cutting off or preventing the escape of the 
water from the eye, consequently the water is 
compelled to drip from the eye. 

The poison in this water is at once commu- 
nicated to the eye, and soon causes inflamma- 
tion of the brain. The animal becomes un- 
controllable; he rears and plunges, runs 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 57 

against walls or houses or any other obstruc- 
tion that comes in his way, often knocks him- 
self clown, or kills himself outright. If this 
should not occur he will lie prostrate on the 
ground, kicking with his hind feet, beating in 
the air with his fore feet, striking his head 
against the ground with such force that if the 
spasm, which it truly is, did not soon pass off, 
he would end his sufferings. These spasms 
will last from twenty minutes to an hour. 
Should they pass off while the animal is on 
his feet he will stand perfectly still, and his 
breathing will be natural. These moments 
will be spent seemingly in enjoyment. These 
are the golden moments, and the only oppor- 
tunity the practitioner will have for the ad- 
ministration of medicines or other treatment, 
for it is absolutely dangerous to be near, or 
stand in the way of the horse during the time 
these spasms are on him. The intervals be- 
tween the spasms are like the spasms them- 
selves — uncertain in length of duration 

Generally before the disease reaches this 

stage the animal becomes blind, sometimes in 

both eyes, sometimes in only one. When this 

is the case the horse will be found, if able to 

5 



58 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

stand on his feet, running round in a circle. 
This he will continue to do until his strength 
is exhausted, or until a spasm comes on. Some 
days before the disease reaches this stage the 
water will be found dripping from the eyes at 
short intervals. The horse will be found 
standing about with his head dropped, and 
has a sleepy, lifeless appearance. If the cra- 
nium or skull bone be tapped with the knuck- 
les it will be found to give off a flat or solid 
sound. The head in the region of the brain, 
if the hand be placed upon it, will manifest 
undue heat, as in fever. 

Treatment. — The first thing to be done is to 
give the horse ten ounces of Epsom salts, in 
sufficient warm water to dissolve it, to which 
add three ounces of strong tobacco juice. This 
will make the horse sick, the very thing we 
want to accomplish, for then we can proceed 
with further treatment. Grive this as a drench 
in the horse's mouth; never drench in the 
nostril, which subject will be treated of in its 
proper place. Follow this with a second 
drench of two ounces of laudanum in some 
warm water. After the horse is once put 
under the influence of the laudanum he must 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 59 

be kept under it daily, but after the first day 
he will not need so much. One ounce may 
suffice. Having succeeded thus far, remove 
from the neck vein one gallon or more of blood. 
Give the patient every four hours twenty-five 
drops of Tincture of Aconite until six doses 
are given. Then j)repare a small piece of 
flexible or pliable wood or stick, about two 
feet long, about the size of a small pipe stem ; 
good hickory or white oak wood will do ; make 
the surface very smooth ; confine on one end 
of this a soft rag, confine it there by sewing it 
with a needle and thread. Instead of break- 
ing the thread off, let it extend down the full 
length of the stick, so if the rag should be re- 
moved from the stick while in the horse's nose, 
it can still be drawn out by the thread. The 
operator should dip this mop in the eye water, 
recommended in this work, insert it gently 
into the duct already described, and press it 
upward in the direction of the eye until it 
reaches near that point. When the stick is 
withdrawn the water will run freely from the 
nose. When this is accomplished the pros- 
pects are good for his ultimate recovery; oth- 
erwise he will die in a few days. 



6o THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

Another important matter is to place a blis- 
ter over the region of the brain. This can 
easily be done by first wetting the hair with 
the Penetrating Liniment at the point where 
the brow band of the bridle crosses the fore- 
head. Place over this a cloth folded three or 
four times, and upon this cloth place a hot 
smoothing iron, and hold it there until a blis- 
ter is drawn. 

From the commencement of the treatment 
keep the nostrils thoroughly •cleansed by means 
of a mop and tobacco juice, as directed in 
treatment for glanders. If this is neglected 
the foulness from the diseased condition of the 
head will accumulate until it will be sufficient 
in itself to almost smother the patient. Much 
may be done as a preventive of blind stag- 
gers by keeping continually in the feed box 
finely pulverized tobacco. This makes the 
horse sneeze or snort, and will cause him to 
free his nose of the worm dust previously 
spoken of. These worms are more abundant 
on corn grown on fresh land than on old land, 
and they are much more numerous in the 
Southern States than in the Northern and 
Western States. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 6i 

FISTULA. 

This disease is situated at the top of shoul- 
ders. The swelling is attended with high 
fever and inflammation. 

This trouble is produced by different causes. 
It may originate from the horse striking the 
top of his withers against a low door head, 
while passing in and out of his stable ; or, 
from the bite of another horse ; or, by the sad- 
dle pressing with undue weight on the withers. 

Let the cause be what it may, the result is 
always the same. The bruised blood accumu- 
lates at the seat of the disease, and if not 
promptly treated, will soon form into pus, 
which must, and will find an outlet -breaking 
and running for weeks and months, and some- 
times for years. 

If the disease has been neglected until it 
reaches this stage, it will generally be difficult 
to cure. 

However, we believe that with the remedies 
laid down in this book, fistula can be cured 
in every stage of the disease, unless it is 
where the horse has been butchered up by 
ignorant quacks who have resorted to the red- 



62 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK, 

hot iron, arsenic, ineffectual and inhuman 
treatment. 

The author has frequently been called on to 
trt^at horses with fistula that had been burned 
so often with the hot iron that their skin had 
become so thick that it took days before the 
best known remedies could penetrate to the 
sensitive part. In such cases the treatment is 
always prolonged ; and when a cure is effected, 
there is alwa^^s scars and disfigurements to 
mark the seat of the disease. 

Arsenic, nor polk-root should never be in- 
serted into the tumor, as is often the case; 
this will eat away the muscles and ligaments, 
and if, after months of suffering, the horse is 
pronounced well, he is greatly disfigured, and 
permanently injured for life; his power and 
action can never be restored. 

Treatment. — If the Penetrating Liniment is 
applied every day, for a few days, previous to 
the formation of matter, it will cure the dis- 
ease, - but will not cure it after the matter 
forms. The hot iron need not be used; to 
drive liniment in in this case, the May-apple 
salve is the next remedy to be applied, and 
the only one to be relied on to effectually draw 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE, 63 

the matter out and leave the animal perma- 
nently cured. 

This will prove slow in its action. If the 
practitioner is not possessed with a good 
share of patience and determination he had 
just as well abandon the case; but with pa- 
tience and perseverance he need not have any 
fears about a cure, which will take from two 
to four weeks, and, perhaps, as many months. 

Apply the May-apple salve to the tumor 
each morning — carefully washing itoif at night. 

Thoroughly cleanse the hair and skin with 
strong soap-suds, after which grease freely, 
washing it off the following morning and apply 
the salve again. 

This course of treatment will, within three 
or four days, cause little pustules to form all 
over the surface of the tumor, from which, 
will exude the pus, increasing in quantity until 
the attendant will be astonished. When this 
end is reached the danger is passed, and the 
quantity of the salve should be increased as 
the quantity of matter increases. 

Too much care can not be taken in the use 
of this salve at the commencement. 

If used too freely, it will injure, instead of 



64 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

benefiting the horse. Spread it all over the 
surface of the tumor — using as small a quan- 
tity as possible, to anoint the skin. If al- 
lowed to remain on too long, the hair will fall 
off, the pores of the skin will be closed, which 
will prevent the salve from penetrating the 
tumor, and subsequent applications will do no 
good. But should this occur, suspend the use 
of the salve and substitute the Penetrating 
Liniment for two or three days, which will 
prepare the affected parts for the salve again. 
Keep this treatment up until the free dis- 
charge of pus, above described, is obtained. 
The use of the salve should be continued un- 
til the pus is all discharged and the enlarge- 
ment disappears. After this, keep the parts 
well greased with any old bacon or fried meat 
grease until the hair grows out again, which 
it will do without change of color or disfigure- 
ment of any kind, unless the hair and skin 
were destroyed before the commencement of 
this treatment. 

Bleed at the commencement of the treat- 
ment, taking one gallon of blood, and ten days 
Jater repeat the operation, taking this time 
half a gallon of blood. Give daily of the 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 65 

Renovating Powders one table-spoonful dur- 
ing treatment. Examine the bottoms of the 
horse's feet, for by this time the raging fever 
has diseased them, causing them to rot. 
Clean them off and treat them as directed for 
hoof rot. 

An Illustrated Case. — Below we will give a 
case where improper and injurious remedies 
were used, which we hope will serve as a 
warning to the anxious horse owner when his 
horse is sick. Better give no treatment at 
all than to be guilty of the folly justly charge- 
ably in the following case : 

During the author's residence in the State 
of Alabama, a friend and neighbor of his called 
on him to examine a fine, black mule, then 
suffering with a fistula tumor of several 
weeks' duration, in which pus had formed, but 
had not broken. The author promised to put 
the patient under treatment the following day, 
with the understanding that it would take 
several weeks to effect a cure, but the owner 
did not deliver the mule to the author for 
treatment according to agreement, but was 
seen a few days later, and gave as an explana- 
tion for his failure to deliver the following 



66 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

reasons : He said that on the same day that 
the author examined the mule, that a friend 
of his proposed to cure the mule without 
charge if the owner would furnish one pint of 
spirits of turpentine, which was done. 

After it was brought to boiling heat it was 
then poured on the tumor. By next day the 
swelling had all disappeared. Some months 
after this the owner again visited the author 
and informed him that his mule was strangely 
affected with lumps, or knots, which would 
suddenly rise up on the sides of his neck and 
about his sheath, and then suddenly disappear, 
only to reappear again. 

To the author this was not strange. The 
matter first formed at the top of the shoulders 
and should have been extracted therefrom, in- 
stead of driving it back for the circulation to 
take up and disease the whole system and 
end in we know not what. We have good 
reasons to believe that the free use of the 
fleam and continued use of the Renovating 
Powders for some weeks would have set mat- 
ters right again, but as our advice was not 
taken at the outset, we were willing for the 
cheap horse doctor to continue his treatment. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 67 

The anxious and excited owner soon after 
exchanged the once valuable mule for a small 
gray pony, and the author lost sight of the 
diseased animal. 

POLL EVIL. 

This formidable disease is essentially the 
same as fistula, the principal difference being 
in the location, for while fistula is located at 
the top of the shoulder, poll evil is situated at 
the top of the head, just back of the ears, and 
is not so often met with as fistula. This dis- 
ease is brought on or caused by a bruise or 
injury of some kind. Poll evil sometimes 
follows fistula sympathetically, when no other 
cause can be assigned. Its developments are 
the same. 

Treatment. — The treatment laid down for 
fistula must, in every particular, be carried 
out for poll evil. To recapitulate : Up to the 
time matter is formed apply the Penetrating 
Liniment, but after the formation of matter 
the May-apple salve is the proper remedy. 
Bleed at the commencement of treatment, and 
ten or twelve days afterward repeat the oper- 
eration. 



68 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

BLOOD-SPAVIN. 

This disease is located at the hock, under 
the membrane covering that joint, and is usu- 
ally caused by overexercise, as hard pulling 
at heavy draughts. Sometimes the little oil 
sacks, so abundant about this joint, which 
contain the synovial fluid or oil from the joint, 
are enlarged from violent exercise, and once 
injured they will continue to grow and enlarge 
the hock, but not to the extent that they do 
when ruptured. This disease admits of a cure 
only in its first stage. If the enlargement is 
confined to the back part of the leg, and is 
above the joint, this will govern the practi- 
tioner in determining the first stage of the 
disease, but if the entire hock joint is enlarged 
the disease has passed into the last stage. In 
the first stage the little oil sacks are only en- 
larged, but when the hock joint is much 
swollen these sacks are ruptured, and the 
fluid escapes and will settle down around the 
joint, continuing to do so until there is no 
more room for it. Sometimes this fluid will 
pass down under the skin on the back part of 
the leg, until it reaches the ankle, 



Diseases of the horse. 69 

Treatment.— T\iQ Penetrating Liniment 
should be applied to the enlargement every 
second day for a period of two or three weeks ; 
bathe in with a hot iron. If within this length 
of time the swelling begins to abate, continue 
the treatment until all traces of the disease 
are removed. Should the disease fail to yield 
to the above treatment, dispense with it and 
apply the Iodide of Mercury Ointment every 
eighth day, thoroughly rubbing it in the hair, 
covering the entire surface of the enlargement. 
The second day after this application is made 
follow with grease. Continue this treatment 
until the enlargement disappears. This dis- 
ease does not always lame the horse, or mate- 
rially injure him for service, but is unsightly 
and always injures the market value of the 
horse. Never suffer these lumps to be opened ; 
it will do no good, to say the least of it, but 
may establish an incurable and running sore. 
Nor should the hot iron be applied to dry up 
the fluid, as is sometimes done, from which 
high inflammation is almost sure to result, 
and is communicated to the joint, from which 
cause the disease is aggravated instead of rem- 
edied. 



70 THE FARMER '5 HORSE BOOK, 

WINDGALLS. 

Wind-galls does not differ materially from 
blood spasms except in their location. Their 
chief seat is on or near the ankle joints, but 
may be found elsewhere. This is another dis- 
ease of the oil sacks, forming lumps or knots, 
thought by some to be filled with wind, but 
when opened for the wind to escape they were 
found to contain only a thick yellowish water 
mixed with blood. If the opening made should 
heal, the disease soon returns as bad as be- 
fore, and the action of the limb impaired and 
sometimes fixed and stiff. 

Treatment. — The same as for blood-spavin. 

CURB. 

This is a disease seldom met with, but as it 
is troublesome and will cause the horse to be 
very lame, especially when he first receives 
the injury, it might be well enough to point 
out its location and treatment. 

Location and Treatment. — Curb is an enlarge- 
ment on the back part of the hind leg, just 
below the hock. It is caused by hard pulling 
or riding, and sometimes from a blow or bruise 
at that point. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 71 

The best treatment is rest, and the frequent 
use of the Penetrating Liniment, applied to 
the affected part and dried in with a hot iron. 
This treatment should be kept up every second 
day until the lameness all passes away, and 
the enlargement diminishes. 

TETANUS, OR LOCKJAW. 

Some professional men have tried to distin- 
guish between tetanus and lock-jaw, but have 
failed to give distinctive symptoms, by which 
tetanus could be distinguished from lock-jaw. 
This disease comes on suddenly, and is accom- 
panied with great nervous excitement. It is 
brought on by wounds of various kinds. I 
have seen more cases of lock-jaw the fruits of 
a sore back than from all other causes com- 
bined. 

The author was traveling from North Ala- 
bama to Fostersville, Tennessee, in the year 
1865, and was driving a mule and horse 
attached to a wagon. The horse had a large 
sore on his back, which was covered with a 
thick scab. Soon after starting on the jour- 
ney the scab was removed by the lines rub- 
bing it off. For the protection of the sore a 



72 THE FARMER 'S HORSE BOOK. 

plaster of pine tar was applied. The sore by 
this time was bleeding profusely. In less 
than five minutes after the application of the 
plaster the horse was seized with lock-jaw. 
The horse was driven a few miles to a farm 
house, where preparations were made for his 
treatment by heating a large bottle of water, 
which was placed under him, and a heavy 
blanket was spread all over him. The warm 
water was then poured on him along the spi- 
nal column from the head to the tail, which 
steamed him very high. Within an hour or 
two the horse's jaws could be moved with the 
hands, and within five hours from commence- 
ment of treatment the patient had so far re- 
covered that he could eat his feed. 

Symptoms. — There are no symptoms point- 
ing to lock-jaw until the horse is attacked. 
His jaws are firmly set from the beginning ; his 
eyes sink deep in their sockets ; the muscles 
of the face and jaws become fixed, as well as 
those of the neck ; the influence is extended 
to all the muscles, causing them to become 
more or less rigid, and so contracted that the 
horse can not stand upon his feet. His ears 
become fixed, pointing upward ; the hind and 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE, 73 

fore feet will be drawn together, his back will 
be roached up, and the horse will have a dis- 
tressed and woe-begone appearance. 

Treatment. — What is done must be done 
quickly, or death will end the horse's suffer- 
ing. The muscles that are so firmly fixed 
and contracted must be relaxed. The first 
thing to be done is to bleed in the neck vein, 
taking at least one and one half gallons of 
blood, provided the horse can stand upon his 
feet long enough. But if he should com- 
mence to blow and to puif at the flanks cut oif 
the flow of blood at once by removing the 
cord from around his neck. After he has re- 
gained his strength, which will be but a short 
time, replace the cord around his neck, and if 
the opening made by the lance has closed up; 
and the blood refuses to flow, a little rubbing 
with the finger where the vein was opened 
will start the blood to flowing again. 

As early in the treatment as possible com- 
mence the steaming process already described. 
Keep this up without intermission until the 
horse fully recovers. In addition to this, pro- 
cure from the horse's leg the little scab, or 
crust, to be found on the 'inside thereof near 
6 



74 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

the hock and knee joints; grate this as fine as 
possible, which can be done by rubbing it on 
a nutmeg grater or a common file, and, if it can 
be done, drench him with about one tea-spoon- 
ful of this powder. But if he can not be 
drenched, place some of this powder in his ear, 
and also smoke him with some of it by placing 
it on some coals of fire held under his nose. 

As soon as the horse has recovered suffi- 
ciently, drench him with one half pound of 
Epsom salts. If the steaming, described 
above, fails to relax the jaws, give him two 
grains of morphine dissolved in one pint of 
water. One hour later the morphine drench 
can be repeated, if necessary. 

In cases of extreme overheat, when the 
horse is very fat, it sometimes occurs that adi- 
pose matter becomes softened to such an ex- 
tent that it produces great nervous excite- 
ment and tetanus follows. When the disease 
is produced by this cause, the treatment 
should be the same as above described, except 
the bathing, which should be with cold water, 
instead of warm. 

When the above treatment has been perse- 
veringly carried out, the horse will usually 



Diseases of the horse. 75 

get well within a few clays, but if neglected 
will certainly die within a few hours. Hence, 
the necessity of every horse owner possessing 
a reliable treatise on the horse and his dis- 
eases — giving cause and symptoms of diseases 
and their treatment. If such was the case, 
thousands of dollars would be saved annually 
to owners of horses. 

CRAMP AND RHEUMATISM. 

Some authors make a distinction between 
these two diseases, but as our object is only to 
give the reader our own experience, and that 
of others so far as we have personal knowl- 
edge, we will blend the two. 

Old horses are more subject to the disease 
than the young and vigorous, but no age- 
is entirely exempt. The horse or mule that 
has been overtaxed by pulling heavy loads, or' 
has been exposed to cold rains, especially 
while his blood was warm, is always a good 
subject for acute rheumatism ; also the pam- 
pered horse that has been kept continually on 
corn, or other heating food, for some weeks or 
months, without exercise, is almost sure to 
suffer with this disease when put to work. 



76 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

Symptoms. — The horse will, after standing 
up all night, and having been worked the pre- 
vious day, be slow to move off; will show 
signs of soreness of the joints and muscles of 
his legs if they be pressed with the hand. 
Some horses, while standing in their stalls, 
will suddenly become violently cramped in 
their hind legs, which are sometimes drawn 
almost straight — caused by the contraction of 
the muscles — and they will continue in this 
position for hours at a time. 

Treatment. — The best thing to be done is to 
remove the cause. Turn the horse out on a 
good pasture ; stop heating his blood by feed- 
ing him dry corn and fodder, and give him, 
every second day, one table-spoonful of the 
Renovating Powders until all traces of the 
disease are removed. 

For sudden lameness, or cramp, bathe the 
horse's legs with salt water as hot as he can 
bear it. If the horse is in bad condition — 
which is seldom the case when suffering from 
rheumatism, for as already intimated, the ple- 
thoric horse is the one most subject to this 
disease — bleed from the neck vein according 
to the severity of the case. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 77 

STRING-HALT. 

This is a very common disease, especially 
with mules, and is a disease of the nerves of 
the hind legs and hips, but the exact location, 
or just which nerve is affected, is not known. 
Much has been written on this subject, but we 
find that writers differ very much in their 
judgment. Others, in whom we have confi- 
dence, have acknowledged that they knew but 
little about the disease, except its existence. 

Cause, — String-halt is, doubtless, due to an 
overaction of the nerves and muscles, there 
being some defect in their construction. When 
this is the case, overwork, or violent exercise, 
brings on an attack of involuntary action of 
the muscles. 

Symptoms. — There is a sudden jerking up of 
the hind legs, often striking them against the 
belly. 

These symptoms manifest themselves more 
clearly after the animal has been standing for 
some time and then moves off. 

Sometimes the disease will take on a worse 
form ; the horse will be suddenly attacked 
while at work. The muscles of the hind legs 



78 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

and hips will be so contracted that the animal 
will get down while in harness and remain down 
for an indefinite length of time. 

Plowing the dam, or otherwise working her, 
while the colt is very young — causing him to 
follow, which he always does for some days or 
weeks, has much to do in developing this dis- 
ease. 

Treatment. — Not much can be done only for 
present relief. Bathe just under the hip joint 
and back of it with the Penetrating Liniment 
once each day for two or three days. 

Bathe the hind legs with warm salt water 
once each day for several days ; or with cam- 
phorated coal oil for four or five days. 

Give the patient, every second day, for fif- 
teen days, one fourth of a pound of sulphur. 
This treatment will do much to improve the 
general condition of the horse ; and if he is 
young and not taxed too heavily with labor, he 
will outgrow the disease. 

Bleeding may be resorted to, to relax the 
muscles in extreme cases. 

Give the horse a free run on a good pasture ; 
if this can not be done, let him have a lot to 
run in, except in bad weather. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 79 

SCRATCHES. 

This is a disease of the skin, and is confined 
to the feet and legs, manifesting itself on the 
back part of the leg near the heel. 

It sometimes spreads to the hock and knee 
joints. The hind legs are more often affected 
by this disease than the fore legs. 

Symptoms. — The legs will swell, and a yellow 
fluid will exude from them, sending out a very 
offensive odor. The hair on the affected part 
will be clotted together with the discharges 
from the sore. The skin will crack open, and 
the horse will manifest pain when driven 
through water or mud. 

Cause. — The horse that is allowed to stand 
in the stall ankle deep in mud or decompos- 
ing manure, and fed on dry corn, which will 
dry up the blood and obstruct its circulation, 
is very apt to have scratches. Hoof-rot will 
also hasten the development of the disease. 

Treatment. — External applications alone will 
do but little good. The first thing to be done 
is to remove the horse to clean and comforta- 
ble quarters. Take from him all heating feed, 
put him on generous and relaxing diet, bleed 
moderatelv at commencement of treatment. 



8o THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

give him each alternate day one fourth of a 
pound of sulphur for fifteen days. Wash off 
the accumulated matter with weak soap-suds, 
and after the hair is dry bathe with the cam- 
phorated coal oil once each day for four days. 
If this does not dry up the disease within six 
or eight days, anoint the affected parts with 
the sulphur ointment. Treat his feet as for 
hoof-rot if necessary. The Penetrating Lini- 
ment will effectually cure scratches within 
four or ^\^ days, but on account of its severe 
effects, when applied to the diseased parts, we 
use it as a last resort. Apply it all over the 
affected parts every other day, until three 
applications are made ; then thoroughly grease 
with lard and let the patient go. Within a 
few days the sores will all be healed, the 
swelling gone, and the animal well. 

THRUSH. 

This is another disease of the feet, but is 
confined to the frog and heel. We know of 
no other cause for this disease than that given 
for scratches, further than an injury to the 
frog or heel, by traveling over rough roads or 
stony places. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 8i 

Symptoms. — A thin, watery matter will es- 
cape or run out of the bottoms of the feet 
around the frog. And deep down between 
the frog and sole of the foot can be found a 
thick and very offensive pus, which is black 
and of the consistency of pine tar. 

Treatment. — Give the patient a dry stall, 
and in addition, clean out, thoroughly, the bot- 
toms of his feet. Wet the frog, the sole, and 
heel every morning with the Penetrating Lin- 
iment, drying it in with a hot iron. Keep 
this treatment up for one week, omit for four 
or ^YQ days, then a]3ply again. Do this until 
the discharges from the heel and frog have 
ceased. Bleeding may be dispensed with in 
this disease, as it is local instead of general 
in its nature, and seldom aifects the blood. 

CRACKED HEEL, OR GREASE. 

This is also a disease of the feet, and we 
know of no marks or symptoms distinguish- 
ing it from thrush except the opened, cracked, 
and dry appearance of the heel, and the extra 
or fungous growth of the frog, which gives it a 
rough, ragged appearance. 

Matter does not escape so freely therefrom, 



82 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

in this disease as in thrush. If neglected, it 
will terminate in that troublesome disease 
known as foot evil. Therefore, it should be 
jjromptly treated. There is no reason to ex- 
pect it to get well of itself. 

It is often the forerunner of more trouble- 
some diseases. 

Treatment. — Apply the Penetrating Lini- 
ment to the diseased part every second day, 
for six or eight days, drying in with hot iron ; 
then give an interval of rest for three days, 
and apply again Continue this treatment 
until the fungous growth of the frog is de- 
stroyed, and the heel and frog are well. 

The horse should not be worked while suf- 
fering with this, or any other disease of the 
feet ; nor should he be exposed to dew, rain, 
or mud, while undergoing treatment. When 
the ground is dry the patient may be put on 
the pasture. Grive him sulphur in the same 
manner as directed for "thrush." 

SWELLED LEGS AND ANKLES. 

Some w^riters have tried to distinguish be- 
tween swelled legs and ankles, but have failed, 
so far as the cause of the disease is concerned. 



Diseases of the Horse. 83 

All the cliiference known between these two 
diseases is in their location — the cause is the 
same in every case that has come under our 
observation. 

Treatment. — Sometimes one leg, or ankle 
only, will be swollen, or enlarged, by being- 
bruised or injured. When this is the case the 
treatment should be warm salt water ; and 
after the hair is dry, apply the Penetrating 
Liniment once a day until the animal is well. 
But when more than one leg or ankle is 
swelled, it is an evidence that the cause is 
somewhere else — generally from a diseased 
state of the feet, and should be treated as di- 
rected elsewhere in connection with such dis- 
eases. 

When the cause is removed the swelling 
will disappear. 

Hoof-rot is an accompaniment of swelled 
ankles and legs, and is nearly always the im- 
mediate cause of this disease. The horse with 
hoof-rot should not be allowed to run on wet 
pasture, where dog-fennel and other poisonous 
plants grow, as it will cause the horse's legs to 
swell to an alarming extent, ^^uch poisoning 
has often been mistaken for snake bite. 



84 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOI^. 

HIDE-BOUND. 

This disease is the fruit of hard usage, or 
from some long-standing disease, where high 
fevers have raged that have closed the pores 
of the skin and dried up the blood, causing it 
to become thick and sluggish. The pores of 
the skin being closed, its oily secretions are 
dried up ; the hair loses the live and glossy 
appearance it has while the horse is in good 
health. 

Symptoms. — The hide adheres closely to the 
bones, ribs, neck, and legs — especially about 
the joints, which impedes his progress in 
traveling, causing him to have a slow, stum- 
bling gate. His repeated groanings. while un- 
der the saddle, indicate the pain it gives him 
to move. 

The digestive organs of such a horse have 
become deranged, and his excrements will be 
dark and hard. 

Treatment. — A reaction must be brought 
about ; the blood must be thinned and puri- 
fied. The bowels and stomach by this time 
have become diseased, sympathetically, and 
must receive their share of the treatment. 



Diseases of rtiE Horse. 85 

Remove from the neck vein one gallon of 
blood, and fifteen days after repeat the opera- 
tion, taking a half gallon this time. 

Give the horse daily one table-spoonful of 
the Renovating Powders. 

Continue the use of the powders until his 
excrements are soft, and have that yellow ap- 
pearance common in health, and until his skin 
becomes loose, and his hair has a healthy aj)- 
pearance. This can be hastened by currying 
and rubbing. 

The bleeding will thin the blood and relax 
the muscles of the stomach and bowels ; the 
powders will give tone to them and the sys- 
tem generally ; will purify the blood, and act 
admirably on the skin, opening its pores. 

This treatment will cure in every case of 
hide-bound, if carried out according to direc- 
tions, though the improvement will be slow 
and gradual. 

SURFEIT. 

Here asrain we must difi'er with some writ- 
ers who contend that surfeit is only a dis- 
ease of the skin. Our experience will not al- 
low us this conclusion, for not a few horses 



86 The Farmer'' s Horse Booi^. 

have we bled for this disease, and found their 
blood thick and dark; while, if only the skin 
was diseased, the blood would not be affected. 

We have cured a number of horses of sur- 
feit with no other treatment than the use of 
the fleam. 

Causes. — The corn fed horse is the one most 
often attacked with this disease, though other 
causes, besides high feeding, will bring on the 
disease, or at least, will develop it. The horse 
that has been driven until his blood is heated 
and then allowed to stand out in a drauo-ht of 
cold air, or is exposed to chilling rains, or al- 
lowed to drink freely of cold water when he is 
very warm, has been known to break out with 
surfeit in a few hours. 

Symptoms. — The sudden appearance of this 
disease, and its rapid progress, is sometimes 
very alarming to the inexperienced horseman, 
though it has never been known to prove fatal 
in a single instance. 

It should be met with prompt treatment, as 
the suffering manifests thetroublesouje nature 
of this disease b^^ the horse continually rub- 
bing himself until the hair drops off, and the 
skin becomes sore. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 87 

This disease, in its milder form, makes its 
appearance on the neck and shoulders ; also 
on the belly and between the fore legs — rising 
up in the form of little knots or pustules, upon 
which will be formed a scab or sore, that will 
soon break and discharge a mattery fluid that 
will spread if not checked. 

Treatment. — As already indicated, the ani- 
mal should be bled moderately, and given free- 
ly of sulphur until two pounds have been ad- 
ministered. 

Apply to the affected parts an ointment com- 
posed of one jDart of sulphur and three parts 
of lard. 

Two or three applications daily will dry up 
the sores. 

MANGE. 

This is a contagious disease, and can be 
communicated to other horses by the use of 
the same harness, saddle, or blanket, that has 
been used upon the diseased horse, or by rub- 
bing against the same stake or wall, or in any 
other way whereby the sound horse may come 
in contact with the affected animal. 

Cause. — In this disease we believe that both 



88 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

the skin and blood is diseased. Although 
it is contagious, we belie v^e that it is much ag- 
gravated by Ulth and neglect. A lack of 
proper care and grooming has much to do 
in developing this disease. High feeding and 
want of exercise also contribute to its develop- 
ment. 

Treatment. — Bleeding again must be re- 
sorted to. Take one gallon of blood. Ex- 
clude from the patient's diet all heating feed. 
Give him clean and comfortable quarters dur- 
ing inclement weather ; but, when the weather 
is favorable keep him on the pasture. Give 
him daily one table-spoonful of Renovating 
Powders until a pound has been given. 

As this is a contagious di?»ease the patient 
should be kept away from other animals. 

Wash the stall, and all places where he has 
rubbed, with strong lime water ; this will pre- 
vent the disease from spreading. 

STIFF COMPLAINT. 

Old horses are the ones most subject to this 
disease. It is brought on by hard labor, 
abuse, and neglect. 

A horse troubled with this complaint will 



Diseases of the Horse. 89 

stumble when there seems to be no occasion 
for it, and is slow in his movements. 

Such a horse is always dangerous to ride, 
and is disqualified for any service except it be 
in the plow or wagon. 

Treatment. — Blood-letting is again neces- 
sary. Take one gallon of blood, and at the 
expiration of twelve or fifteen days take half 
that quantity. Administer the Renovating 
Powders in table-spoonful doses daily until one 
pound has been given. Let the patient have 
unbroken rest for one month, or until he 
regains his action. Feed on generous diet, or 
keep him on a green pasture if it be in season. 
Keep him in a comfortable house if in winter. 

WARTS. 

Of these there are two kinds — blood and 
seed warts. The blood wart is the most 
troublesome, because it is hardest to remove. 
It makes its appearance on the hocks, ankles, 
ears, and sometimes on other parts of the 
body. The blood wart is a fungous growth, 
and increases in size very rapidly, and at an 
early stage becomes raw and is easily irri- 
tated and almost continually bleeding. Warts 
7 



go THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

seldom appear singly. When one makes its 
appearance, others may be expected to follow. 
Treatment. — For a blood wart take purified 
nitrate potash, pulverize fine. If the wart is 
raw and bleeding, sprinkle the potash all over 
the surface as long as any will adhere thereto. 
The second day after the application is made, 
wash oif with warm water, using a soft rag or 
sponge, all of the crust that has accumulated 
on the wart. And while it is wet from the 
washing, apply the potash as before. Con- 
tinue this treatment until the wart is eaten 
away, after which apply the Penetrating Lini- 
ment, for the purpose of destroying the roots, 
each alternate day until three applications are 
made. After this the parts should be kept 
well greased. Should this treatment fail after 
a fair trial, prepare the following: Take a 
strong solution, composed of caustic potash 
and water, and apply it to the wart by means 
of a little mop at morning and at night ; be 
careful at each application to remove the crust 
formed on the wart. After the wart is eaten 
down apply the Penetrating Liniment and 
follow it with an application of grease as 
directed above. Great care must be taken 



Diseases of the Horse. 91 

while using the potash liquid. If it is allowed 
to run down upon the sound parts it will pro- 
duce a sore, and unnecessarily punish the ani- 
mal. This trouble can be avoided by greas- 
ing around and below the wart with any kind 
of grease that will thoroughly fill the hair, 
and allowed to extend down as low as the 
liquid may run. A small quantity of this 
solution applied to the wart will be sufficient, 
as it is very strong. The same treatment 
just laid down for blood warts will destroy 
seed warts. The horse troubled with warts 
should have his blood purified by giving him 
the Renovating Powders in table-spoonful doses 
each alternate day for two or three weeks ; or, 
in the absence of the powders, sulphur may 
be freely used. If the wart be hanging by a 
stem, as is often the case with seed warts, tie 
a small, strong cord around the stem suffi- 
ciently tight to stop the circulation, and the 
wart will die and drop off in a few days. 

SADDLE AND HARNESS GALLS. 

These sores are caused by an ill fitting sad- 
dle or harness, and are of frequent occurrence 
in warm weather. The skin will become 



92 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

chafed and raw ; the hair will slip off, leaving 
the surface of the skin naked and bleeding. 
Sometimes deep-seated abscesses are formed, 
which, after a time, will break, discharging 
large quantities of pus, disqualifying the horse 
for service for weeks and sometimes for 
months. Sometimes these sores, especially 
upon the back and at the humerous-joint or 
point of the shoulder, develop into what is 
called a " sit-fast," which is a gristly forma- 
tion under the skin. 

Treatment. — In the first stage — that is, 
when the hair is first rubbed off — all that is 
needed to perfect a cure is to let the animal 
have rest and keep the parts well greased — 
salty grease preferred — to prevent a thick 
scab from forming, or remaining on too long, 
in which case there would be a scar, or naked 
spot, to remain. 

In the second stage of the disease, when the 
parts are much swollen and the inflammation 
is high, the Penetrating Lintment should be 
applied once^ each day, thoroughly wetting the 
surface of the inflamed and swollen part. If 
matter has not formed, the Penetrating Lini- 
ment will effectually cure in every case. But 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 93 

if pus is formed, the May-apple Salve should 
be used. 

SORE NOSE AND MOUTH. 

This trouble originates from the horse 
grazing in the j^asture where poisonous weeds 
grow, while the vegetation is wet with dew or 
rain. The nose and lips become raw and sore 
and swollen. 

Treatment. — Take one pint of water, to 
which add two table-spoonfuls of the tincture 
of " Golden Seal." Wash the sores with this 
preparation morning and at noon, and at night 
grease the sores with lard, and on the follow- 
ing morning wash it oif and apply the solution 
of Golden Seal as before. Continue this treat- 
ment until the sores have healed and the 
swelling disappeared ; then grease the parts 
well and let the patient go. 

VERMIN. 

These little pests originate from poverty, bad 
stabling, and neglect of grooming. The old 
and enfeebled horse and also the young and 
feeble colt are the ones most often infested 
with them; but the plethoric, well-fed horse 
will be troubled with these pests if allowed 



94 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK, 

to associate with the horse afflicted with them. 
The latter part of winter or early spring is the 
season when vermin are most abundant, 
though the feeble and emaciated horse will 
hold them until he improves in flesh and 
sheds his winter coat. Vermin are a source 
of great annoyance to the horse, and especially 
to the young colt that can not thrive while 
being infested with them, and often dies from 
no other cause. 

Treatment. — If the horse's condition is bad, 
bleed him moderately at commencement of 
treatment, and give him daily one table-spoon- 
ful of the Renovating Powders. Make an 
ointment of one ounce of sulphur, one half 
ounce of red precipitate, and four ounces of 
lard. Rub the horse with a small portion of 
this — equally distributing it as much as possi- 
ble — once every third day until the vermin 
are all destroyed, which will be only a few 
days. The free use of the curry-comb and 
brush will hasten a cure. 

CEREBRAL DISEASES.— APOPLEXY. 

This disease of the brain, or blood — for it is 
a diseased state of the blood which brings on 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 95 

this cerebral disturbance— is caused by the blood 
becoming too abundant, thick, and sluggish, 
and a sudden determination of it to the brain 
brings on the attack. 

Symptoms. — The muscles will twitch and 
jerk; the eye-balls will dance and the lids will 
snap ; the head will be carried too low while 
walking, sometimes almost to the ground ; and 
while standing still his head will be pressed 
against the wall or manger. The blood ves- 
sels will be full and corded, and he will walk 
awkward, with a staggering gait, and have a 
high fever. His excrements will be dark and 
scanty ; the bowels will have a tendency to 
costiveness; the appetite will fail, and the pa- 
tient will be thirsty. All these symptoms are 
not present in every case, but are to a greater 
or less degree. The horse will grow worse from 
day to day, and as the disease advances will 
show signs of frenzy. Before a fatal termina- 
tion he will fall to the ground in convulsions. 

This disease seldom attacks the lean horse 
that is regularly exercised, but may be brought 
on any horse by an overheat or overfeeding ; 
though the pampered horse is the one usually 
attacked with apoplexy. 



96 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

Treatment. — The first step in the treatment 
is to relieve the brain and nervous system. 
Blood-letting is absolutely indisj^ensable. 
Remove from the neck vein one gallon of 
blood, and one hour later, if the symptoms 
have not abated, repeat the operation, taking 
half a gallon of blood. Bathe the head in the 
region of the brain with the Penetrating Lini- 
ment ; evacuate the bowels as soon as can be 
done by the free use of the clyster, consisting 
of one pint of lard. If this does not move the 
bowels within half an hour, follow with an in- 
jection of warm soap-suds ; repeat this every 
half hour until the bowels are moved. Drench 
with one quart of moderately strong pepper 
tea with one table-spoonful of salt dissolved in 
it. Follow this with one ounce of laudanum in 
a little warm water. Six hours later drench 
with half a pint of Epsom salts. Keep the 
patient upon green and relaxing feed. 

The horse once attacked with apoplexy 
will be very subject to a return of the disease; 
he should never be overworked, but should 
have regular exercise, and should be sparingly 
fed on dry corn. 



Diseases of the horse. 97 

EPILEPSY. 

This disease is seldom met with in our 
country. The trouble seems to originate from 
the same cause that apoplexy does. The 
symptoms are very much the same, though 
epilepsy comes on more suddenly than does 
apoplexy, and passes oif as suddenly as it 
comes on. Sometimes the animal beains to 
project the head forward. The neck will be 
stiff, the head elevated, and in continual mo- 
tion, the muscles will twitch before a spasm 
comes on. Sometimes the horse will show 
none of these symptoms, but will fall suddenly 
to the ground, the attack coming on so quick 
that the rider will scarcely have time to free 
himself from the stirrups and get out of the 
horse's way. He will lay there in great agony 
and groan all the while, striking with his feet. 
The inexperienced horseman will think that 
his horse will be dead within a few minutes, 
but to his surprise, the spasm will pass oif, 
and he will rise to his feet, and seemingly be 
as well as before the attack. He may be free 
from another attack for some time, but it may 
return as suddenly as before. 



98 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

Treatment. — But little can be done for the 
horse afflicted with epilepsy, as there are sel- 
dom any symptoms sufficiently clear to warn 
the horseman of its approach. If the treat- 
ment given for apoplexy be carried out in this 
case, as soon as the spasm passes oif, it may 
and sometimes does keep them off for some 
days and perhaps weeks, but we place much 
more confidence in the care and feeding than 
in the treatment to prevent a return. The 
unfortunate owner of a fitified horse, as he is 
called, will never own another if he can avoid 
it. 

PARALYSIS. 

This form of disease is of rare occurrence. 
We have never seen but two or three horses 
that we were satisfied was afflicted with this 
disease. This disease is caused by some de- 
rangement and perhaps suspension of the 
nervous action, and is doubtless the result of 
some injury of the spinal cord, from which 
the hips and thighs become paralyzed. 

Treatment. — The patient should be bled at 
intervals of fifteen days apart, taking about 
half a gallon of blood each time, for a period 
f six or eight weeks. Apply the camphor- 



Diseases of the Horse. 99 

ated coal oil to the hips and thighs every day 
for three days, and then apply once each week. 
Give the Renovatins>: Powders dailv in table- 
spoonful doses, until the patient fully recov- 
ers. 

BLIND TEETH. 

These can be found upon the upper jaw- 
bone of the horse, in front of the jaw teeth. 
Sometimes they are situated near to the jaw 
teeth, and sometimes a little distance from 
them. They are shorter than the jaw teeth, 
are round and peg-like shaped. They can be 
readily felt with the thumb or linger at the 
point designated. They are easily knocked 
out, which should be done, as they are of no 
service whatever to the horse and are intrud- 
ers. All that the operator needs to remove 
them is a square-ended piece of iron and ham- 
mer. No instrument for this purpose is better 
than a large ilat file. Place the end of this 
against the tooth, and strike the other end 
with a hammer. The tooth will give way 
readily, as it has no roots, and only rests on 
the jaw-bone. 

There is more prejudice against blind teeth 
than should be. They are by many considered 



lOO THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK, 

marks of unsoundness, weak eyes, and big 
head. It is true the horse with diseased eyes, 
or with big head, may or may not have blind 
teeth, yet blind teeth never produce these dis- 
eases, though we will not go so far as to say 
that they will not aid in the development 
of these diseases. They do contribute their 
share of fever and inflammation, combined 
with other causes in their development. 

DISEASES AND ABUSE OF THE TEETH. 

The teeth of the horse, as well as of man, 
are subject to disease and decay, but while it 
is hereditary in man, it is not so with the 
horse. As a natural consequence the teeth of 
the old horse must give way and become worn- 
out, as well as the teeth of man, for which 
there is no remedy. 

Any disease of the stomach that generates 
gases will cause the teeth to rot. The teeth 
of such horses will always be foul. There 
will be an accumulation upon them, especially 
near their roots, of a yellow coating, which 
will continue to increase until a crust is formed 
which, if not removed, will soon destroy their 
enamel. The gums will become sox^e and 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. loi 

inflamed, and take on that form of disease 
called scurvy. As soon as the teeth are dis- 
covered to take on this form of disease, the 
cause should be promptly removed by correct- 
ing the diseased stomach, for which purpose 
change the diet of the horse from dry to green 
feed. Keep constantly in the feeding troughs 
wood ashes mixed with salt. Do not depend 
on giving a dose once or twice a week ; keep 
this continually in the trough, and let him eat 
his feed off of it. The disease may run on 
until the teeth have become coated with a 
hard crust, which should be removed by means 
of a file, after which dress the teeth with sand- 
paper. This treatment will be of no lasting 
benefit unless the acid condition of the stom- 
ach is corrected, h. diseased stomach is by 
no means the only cause of bad teeth. The 
use of many vile preparations, administered 
to the horse as medicines, is often the cause 
not only of permanent injury to the teeth, but 
also to the stomach. Prominent among them 
are blue-stone, arsenic, calomel, copperas, and 
all mineral poisons. 

To convince some persons of the injurious 
effects of these so-called remedies would be 



I02 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

impossible, and when we meet such persons 
we never throw away much of our time in argu- 
ing with them. To such as are willing to be 
instructed we would say, better administer no 
medicine at all to your horse than give him 
such as would injure him. 

Not only are the teeth, mouth, and stomach 
injured by the use of certain medicines, but 
the kidneys are often diseased from the same 
cause. Such animals will always be subject 
to colic pains, and often the ignorant owner 
will again administer medicine, the eifect of 
which they know nothing. There is no ap- 
parent swelling of the bowels when the seat of 
the disease is in the kidneys, and is traceable 
to no other cause than the administration of 
some of the remedies recommended by igno- 
rant " quacks " for the general improvement 
of the horse. 

The teeth of the old horse are never so 
smooth and white as the teeth of the young, 
unless the causes just named are present with 
the young. 

We will now dismiss this subject, as there 
is to be found in another part of this work a 
chapter devoted to the care and management 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 103 

of the young colt, in which the subject of the 
teeth will again be discussed. 

LAMPAS. 

Young horses are more subject to this af- 
fliction than the aged, but none are wholly ex- 
empt. The young colt soon after weaning, 
and all through the period of teething and 
shedding ; the grown horse ; the old and fee- 
ble ; the well-kept and plethoric, are all sub- 
ject to this ailment. 

Lampas is an inflamed and swollen condi- 
tion of the gums and roof of the mouth. The 
gums often swell and protrude beyond the 
points of the teeth, which prevents a horse 
from eating his feed, especially if it be corn in 
the ear, or other coarse feed. 

Treatment, — Scarify the gums in a number of 
places until they bleed, after which wash the 
swollen parts with a weak solution of lime- 
water and rub them with salt. Carry the 
animal through this treatment for four or five 
days, or longer if necessary. Give him daily 
one table-spoonful of the Renovating Powders 
until ten doses are given. Give him green. 



I04 THE FARMER 'S HORSE BOOK, 

soft feed, if it can be procured ; if not, give 
him meal, instead of corn. 

The red-hot iron should never be tolerated 
for the purpose of burning the " lampas " out, 
which is often done. There is nothing in the 
mouth that ought to be burned out, besides 
the teeth are often injured by coming in con- 
tact with the hot iron. It is to be deplored 
that so many persons are found who, without 
discretion, care, or feeling, are willing to punish 
and torture the horse by such malpractice, and 
who have nothing better to guide them than a 
blind zeal or inclination for doctoring horses 

COLIC OF THE STOMACH. 

This disease is first confined to the stomach, 
but it often extends to the bowels. While it 
is confined to the stomach there is no visible 
swelling. The ribs that surround the stomach 
will not permit it to expand so as to be seen, as 
can be done when it is colic of the bowels. 
Here is where a mistake comes up, for it is a 
prevalent opinion among horsemen that if 
there is no swelling, and the animal places 
his nose to his side, he is troubled with " bots," 
and drenches are given him to make them let 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 105 

go their hold. When the horse is suifering 
from any of the following diseases : colic of 
the stomach, colic of the bowels, inflammation 
of the kidneys or bladder, he will point out, 
as best he can, the seat of the disease by plac- 
ing his nose to his side. If it be colic of the 
stomach he will place his nose opposite that 
organ ; if the seat of the disease be farther 
back, he will extend his nose farther back. 
This is his only means of pointing out the 
seat of his disease, which, to the experienced 
practitioner, is very clear and decisive. 

Cause. — There are a variety of causes. Any 
thing that will interfere with the digestive or- 
gans of the horse will produce colic. Exces- 
sive eating and drinking are the most com- 
mon causes. The frequent administration of 
improper medicines will produce, or cause a 
diseased state of the stomach. Such a horse 
will be subject to colic. 

Symptoms. — The animal will manifest pain 
by restlessness and show a dispoistion to lie 
down; will place his nose against his side, and 
will change from one position to another. 

These symptoms lead the horseman to at 
once conclude that his horse is suifering with 
8 



io6 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

bots, and that he must be drenched with some- 
thing strong enough in its nature to make 
them let go their hold. Just here some grave 
and serious mistakes are made. The stomach 
of the poor, suifering animal is made the 
receptacle of every vile nostrum that the igno- 
rance of man can suggest; fuel is added to 
the fire continually. 

No amount of argument can convince some 
persons that the bots is not the greatest enemy 
that the horse has. Their argument is that 
they have seen the horse die with all these 
symptoms, and when he was opened found 
his stomach riddled by the bots. To this we 
can bear witness, so far as the stomach being 
eaten into holes by the bots is concerned, but 
at just what stage of the disease the little bots 
declared war against the horse, and at what 
time the battle commenced, we acknowledge 
our ignorance. But to say, as some writers 
do, that the bots do not harm the horse is car- 
rying the argument too far on our side. 

We are satisfied that as long as the horse is 
in health, and his digestive organs perform 
their office, the little bots are contented 
in their home, and will never do the horse 



Diseases of the Horse, 10:7 

any harm until he is disturbed by a diseased 
state of the stomach, or by some of these so- 
called remedies for their destruction. In such 
cases we believe that the bots do hasten a fatal 
termination of the disease. 

Treatment. — The first thing to be done is to 
give the animal something that will correct 
the deranged condition of the stomach, and to 
relax the muscles of the same. This can read- 
ily be done in most cases by giving a drench 
of salt water as hot as the horse can bear. 
Bleeding from the neck vein will give relief 
as often as any thing we have ever tried. But 
should the above-named treatment fail give 
the patient one half ounce of asafetida and 
one half ounce of chloroform, mixed with four 
ounces of whisky. Put all this into enough 
warm water to make a drench, and in connec- 
tion give a clyster of lard or soap-suds to 
evacuate the bowels. The above-named treat- 
ment has cured in every case of colic of the 
stomach, otherwise known as bots, with one 
exception. 

FLATULENT COLIC. 

Flatulent or wind colic, as it is commonly 
called, is confined to the bowels. This kind 



io8 The FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

of colic often follows colic of the stomach, but 
sometimes occurs independent of it, as in con- 
stipation or stricture of the bowels. 

When stricture of the bowels takes place 
the most effectual and safe treatment is the 
process of back-raking. This is done by the 
operator greasing his hand and arm and gently 
pressing his hand into the rectum; continue 
to press it forward until the obstruction is 
reached. This should be gently removed, 
bringing it forward until it is all removed as 
far up as the hand of the operator can be 
extended. Sometimes a clyster will answer 
the purpose, which should be composed of lard 
or soap-suds, mixed with a small quantity of 
tobacco juice. Repeat the clyster every few 
minutes. 

The other treatment in this case is bleeding 
from the neck vein. We have relieved more 
horses of flatulent colic by blood-letting than 
by any one treatment. 

Another cause of flatulent colic is a diseased 
state of the kidneys. The fever and inflam- 
mation in that region is communicated to the 
bowels. When this is the case the remedies 
recommended for inflammation of the kidneys 



Diseases of the Horse, 109 

should be made use of in connection with the 
treatment laid down above. 

Another remedy that comes to us from a 
reliable source for inflammation of the kid- 
neys is to apply wet salt on the horse's loins, 
opposite the kidneys. This has been known 
to give immediate relief. 

An Illustrated Case. — About the year 187:2 
we were traveling a distance of seventy-five 
miles, and were leading a horse belonging to 
another man. Suddenly the horse was taken 
sick with flatulent colic. This occurred in 
one of the mountain districts of North Ala- 
bama, which at that date was thinly settled. 
There was no medicine at hand, and the dis- 
tance between houses was so great that it was 
some hours before any thing could be done for 
him. By that time the horse was much swol- 
len, and when allowed to stop would suddenly 
fall to the ground with violence. After a time 
a farm house was reached, but there was no 
remedy to be found there that the author had 
ever made use of. But something had to be 
done or the horse would soon die. 

In the absence of a regular syringe one was 
substituted, which was hastily manufactured 



iio The FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

from a large cane, and with it the horse was 
given an injection of about two ounces of 
tobacco juice. This made him very sick; he 
could scarcely stand upon his feet ; his muscles 
were relaxed, and within a few minutes the 
animal was fully relieved. This was our first 
experience with an injection of tobacco juice, 
but have since that time made use of it in 
extreme cases, when other remedies had failed, 
with the most satisfactory results. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 

This disease of the horse is of more fre- 
quent occurrence than perhaps the horseman 
is aware. We have been called upon to treat 
this disease when no amount of argument 
could convince the owner that there was any 
thing more the matter with his horse than 
colic. The symptoms are in some respects 
alike. 

Cause. — This disease is caused by abuse in 
almost every case. It can be brought on by 
hard work, hard riding, feeding on unwhole- 
some food — rotten corn, molded fodder and 
hay — and by the administration of poisonous 
drugs, such as bluestone, copperas, and S^^an- 



Diseases of the horse. m 

ish flies, all of which are administered to im- 
prove the condition of the horse. 

It is astonishing how readily some persons 
will administer whatever may be suggested as 
a remedy to improve the condition of their 
horse. 

If the horse is in health it is absolutely 
injurious to give him any medicine. If his 
appetite is bad, give him exercise and change 
his feed, and he will always shed his hair 
when the proper time comes for him to 
do so. 

Symptoms. — The horse will manifest this 
disease by making frequent efforts to urinate. 
He will stop suddenly while in the harness or 
under the saddle, and stretch himself out, 
which he may do a number of times before 
the flow will commence. And then it is often 
small in quantity and highly colored, and at 
times will be entirely suppressed. The patient 
will have a slow and awkward gait, and will 
straddle his hind legs as he walks. 

Sometimes the sheath swells; his appetite 
fails. He seldom lies down, unless the dis- 
ease has advanced, and he is in great jDain. 
When this stage of the disease is reached the 



112 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

symptoms are sometimes mistaken for colic. 
The horse will roll and turn over fi^om side to 
side, and will rise up quickly to his feet. The 
fever will be high in the region of the kidneys 
and bladder, the pulse will be hard and 
quick. 

Treatment. — Prepare the following drench: 
Three ounces spirits nitre, one ounce oil of 
sassafras, and half an ounce oil of juniper. 
Divide this into three doses, and give one in 
the morning, one at noon, and the other at 
nio'ht. Grive this mixed in water. Bleed at 
commencement of treatment. Take from a 
half to one gallon of blood, according to the 
severity of the case. Bathe the hips and loins 
with strong salt water. If in winter, the water 
should be warm ; if in summer, it should be 
cold. Grive the horse green feed, if it can be 
procured, excluding dry corn and moldy feed 
of any kind. Keep him on the Renovating 
Powders until all traces of the disease have 
disap[)eared. Give one tablespoonful each 
day. Bathe the loins twice each day in the 
camphorated coal oil; or in the absence of 
this, apply the Penetrating Liniment once 
each day for three days. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 113 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 

This disease in its symptoms is so much 
like inflammation of the kidneys that the 
practitioner is often at a loss to diagnose the 
disease. There is but one way by which he 
can tell one disease from the other, and that 
is by inserting the hand into the rectum ; if 
the disease is in the bladder, the heat and in- 
flammation can be felt there ; if the trouble is 
at the kidneys, the fever there will betray the 
presence of the disease. 

Treatment. — The treatment is essentially 
the same for inflammation of the bladder as it 
is for inflammation of the kidneys, with the 
additional use of a drench twice each day for 
three days, composed of whortleberry leaves 
made into a tea, one pint at a dose. 

CALCULI, OR STONE IN THE BLADDER. 

This is a disease of both the kidneys and 
bladder. Having its origin in the kidneys, 
the stone is formed there, and while small 
passes into the bladder, where it continues to 
grow until its weight and rough surface in- 
flames the bladder, and is a continual annoy- 



114 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

ance to the horse. They are sometimes found 
lodged in the neck of the bladder, almost stop- 
ping the flow of the urine. In such cases the 
bladder is too full ; the horse manifests great 
pain, and if there is not speedy relief will soon 
die. 

Symptoms. — The distinctive symptoms in 
this disease are the following : When the 
bladder is overcharged with urine the horse 
spends most of his time lying down ; the pres- 
sure on his bowels while down seems to give 
him relief. The water in the bladder can 
often be heard, as the water in a jug when 
shaken. The animal will sometimes, while 
lying down, extend his fore feet forward, as 
though he would get up, but instead of doing 
so he will turn back again upon his side. 

Regular exercise, in some cases, will be 
found the best means to prevent undue ac- 
cumulation of water in the bladder, but should 
not be resorted to as a means of cure while 
the horse is in that condition. After the 
urine commences to flow it will be discharged 
in large quantities until the bladder is emp- 
tied, which will, of course, give relief. 

Treatment. — We have but little confidence 



Diseases of the horse. 115 

in any remedy administered to the horse after 
the stone is formed. The only way to free 
the horse of it would be to perform a very dif- 
ficult and hazardous surgical operation. 
About all that can be done safely is to give 
remedies to relieve and let nature do the rest, 
as these stones sometimes come away of them- 
selves. 

Grive daily for several weeks one table- 
spoonful of the Renovating Powders. To re- 
lieve acute attack of this disease, bleed from 
the neck according to the severity of the 
symptoms, and give the nitre preparation, 
same as recommended for inflammation of the 
bladder, then bathe the hips and loins with 

salt water. 

DIABETES. 

This disease is an involuntary discharge of 
the urine, and while there is no pain present, 
nor fever that can be detected, it will soon 
tell on the patient by reducing his flesh and 
destroying his vital powers. 

Treatment. — Give the animal rest and clean 
and wholesome feed. If in season, give him 
pasture. Put him on daily use of the Reno- 
vating Powders for some weeks. 



ii6 The Farmer's Horse Book. 

We will say, in this connection, that for all 
diseases and derangements of the urinary or- 
gans, whether it be of the kidneys or bladder, 
if the urine be bloody or thick, the general 
treatment laid down for the kidney and blad- 
der is the treatment for all urinary troubles, 
es]3ecially the use of the Renovating Powders, 
for we believe them to be the most effectual 
remedy for these troubles that can be admin- 
istered ; they are slow in their action, but sure 
in their effect, and always leave the horse's 
system much improved. 

FOUL SHEATH. 

This is a disease very common with the old 
horse. It accompanies gravel and other uri- 
nary diseases. It is often overlooked, or if 
noticed at all by the horseman, is regarded 
as a matter of no consequence. But not so ; 
while some horses will linger along and never 
get down, others will become worthless. Dis- 
eases of a more grave nature will be produced 
by this one. 

Symptoms. — The horse will become stiff, 
especially in his hind extremities ; his sheath 
will swell and become sore ; he will scarcely 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 117 

be able to get up when down ; the water will 
dribble from his sheath ; and upon examina- 
tion, his sheath and adjacent parts are found 
to be covered with a black, waxey, and oiFen- 
sive matter ; the end of the penis, upon exami- 
nation, will be found to be obstructed by what 
is commonly called a bean. 

Treatment. — The sheath should be washed 
out with weak soap-suds ; if made too strong 
it will burn and irritate the parts. After the 
sheath has been well cleansed, and the bean 
in the end of the penis removed, grease with 
lard ; keep up the greasing for several days, 
or until the swelling and soreness has disap- 
peared. Give the horse for several weeks all 
the sulphur he can be induced to eat. 

COLT FOUNDER. 

This is a disease of the genital organs, and 
comes on during the months of pregnancy. 
Old mares are more subject to this disease 
than the young and vigorous. The mare that 
has once been troubled with colt founder 
should not be bred again, though she may ap- 
pear to have fully recovered, for when she 
conceives the old trouble will return, and grow 



ii8 The Farmer's horse Book. 

worse each time she proves with foal ; if she 
survives at foaling time, the offspring will be 
found weak and sickly, and in the majority of 
cases afflicted with urinary trouble, or die 
with scours. 

Symptoms. — The animal grows stiff; gets 
weak in the loins; can scarcely get out of the 
stable ; fever is very high ; the pulse runs up to 
sixty or seventy when the symptoms lirst 
make their appearance. They will grow 
worse until the foal is born ; the patient will 
often get down, unable to rise to her feet, and 
if raised would be unable to stand. There is 
high fever about the kidneys and bladder from 
the beginning. 

Treatment. — A cure is out of the question 
while the mare is carrying the colt. If she 
continues on her feet until delivery of the foal, 
the owner may hope for a cure. Some mares 
recover very soon after delivery without treat- 
ment of any kind, while others improve 
slowly under the best treatment known. 

When the symptoms first appear, put the 
patient on relaxing diet ; exclude the use of 
dry corn and fodder ; bathe the loins with the 
camphorated coal oil for some days, and if this 



Diseases of the horse. 119 

should fail to relieve her of the weakness 
manifested, then apply the Penetrating Lini- 
ment every second day for eight or ten days ; 
then omit the liniment for the same length of 
time. After the days of omission, apply again 
if necessary. After the mare has delivered 
the colt, she should be bled once, and the 
Renovating Powders administered until she is 
well. 

If she should get down before delivery, she 
should be raised and kept in a swing until she 
is strong enough to stand. The best plan for 
that i^urpose is to provide some strong cloth, 
wide enough to cover the entire space between 
the fore and hind legs, and of sufficient length 
to be at each end, after it has been passed un- 
der the mare, attached to two rails, or poles — 
one at each end. Having succeeded thus far 
with the preparation, commence to build a 
rail pen around her, keeping the ends of the 
timbers to which the cloth is attached above 
the pen. 13y this means the animal can be 
raised to her feet as high as desired. She 
should be raised of sufficient height that she 
can rest on the cloth under her on her feet. 
The pen must be well staked, or she, in her 



I20 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

struggles, will throw it down. After this is 
done, erect a shed over her to protect her 
from the sun and rain. 

THUMPS. 

This very common ailment of the horse is 
caused by some obstruction, or hinderance, to 
the flow of the blood through the pulmonary 
artery that very seriously interferes with the 
heart's action. 

Cause. — It is a very prevalent opinion 
among horsemen that overexercise is the cause 
of thumps, from which opinion we differ. It 
is often true that the horse that has been 
driven too hard, or that has been ridden too 
freely, will have the "thumps;" and it is 
equally true that the horse will often have 
thumps that has not been exercised ; yet to be 
worked while suffering with an attack of the 
disease will increase the difficulty very much. 

Symptoms. — There is a throbbing of the 
sides and flanks so severely that it can be 
heard for several feet away ; this soon passes 
away for an indefinite length of time, to mani- 
fest itself again when the horse is freely exer- 
cised. We have never known a case of 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 121 

thumps to prove fatal, yet it is claimed by- 
some writers that such has been the case. 
Some horses are very subject to the thumps, 
which greatly depreciates their value. 

Treatment. — But little can be done by medi- 
cating a horse. Give him a drink of cold 
water in which some salt has been dissolved ; 
this will usually stop the throbbing. Grive 
one tea-spoonful of oil of tar each day for 
three days. 

THE BLOOD. 

The blood is not the cause of diseases, yet 
there is scarcely a disease that the horse is 
subject to that does not affect the blood. Fever 
inflames the blood, whether it be of a local or 
general character. A bruise or wound on any 
part of the horse will generate fever, and the 
blood will carry it to all parts of the system. 
The poison that arises from such a wound is 
soon communicated to the blood — then the 
blood is said to be diseased. 

Treatment. — We should first find out the 

cause of the fever. If it has its origin or is 

caused by some wound or injured part, that 

should first be treated, and afterward the 

9 



122 The Farmer's Horse Book". 

blood should be cleansed, for while some local 
cause exists axd extends its influence through- 
out the entire circulation, it will be useless to 
give remedies to purify the blood. 

THIN BLOOD. 

Some diseases have a tendency to thin the 
blood. Among these are dysentery, scours, con- 
sumption, and diabetes. 

THICK BLOOD. 

When the blood is thick and circulation 
slow, this denotes the presence of fever. 

BLOOD-LETTING. 

Some of the modern horse doctors object to 
phlebotomy. They contend that it impover- 
ishes the blood, and some of them have gone 
so far as to have a horse pictured with half a 
dozen attendants at his side, while the horse 
has the appearance of being so weak and ex- 
hausted that he c^n hardly stand upon his 
feet. Such a sight has never been seen by 
the author, nor by the person who drew the 
picture, unless the horse was bled by the au- 
thor of such a picture, or by some other per- 
son who does not know any thing about treat- 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 123 

ing a horse for disease. JN'either do they 
know enough about him or his blood, nor the 
treatment of diseases, to entitle them to any 
notice. 

We would have passed them by unnoticed, 
but for the good of others, who might be influ- 
enced by such, we say that no such trouble or 
feebleness to the horse ever grow out of bleed- 
ing. It is true any horse can be bled to death. 
If the horse is suffering with such diseases as 
diarrhoea, dysentery, scours, thumps, or con- 
sumption, he should not be bled ; such would 
be debilitating and harmful instead of improv- 
ing. But when high fevers exist, either local 
or general, blood-letting is beneficial. Some- 
times the horse can be successfully treated in 
fevers without bleeding, but would always be 
benefited by it. It reduces inflammation, re- 
laxes the muscles, and reduces the quantity of 
diseased blood, making room for new and pure 
blood. 

True, if there were not internal remedies 
given, the blood would soon become diseased 
again. Bleeding is not for the purpose of j^ur- 
ifying the blood, but to prepare the way for 
medicine to follow that will cleanse it, which 



124 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. . 

would do more harm than good, if adminis- 
tered before the bleeding. 

The blood is too thick and sluggish, the cir- 
culation is slow, and can not take up the med- 
icine and carry it through the system ; hence 
the necessity of its being reduced in quantity. 
The horse never has too much blood if it is 
pure, but when it is diseased, as described 
above, it can be too abundant. 

The amount of blood to be extracted will 
vary in different cases; it will depend upon 
the nature of the disease — the stage it has 
reached, and the length of time it has existed. 
The blood will be found very dark and thick 
in big head, fistula, pole-evil, hide-bound, stiff 
complaint, lock-jaw, glanders, distemper, 
founder, pneumonia, and all diseases of long 
standing, where the inflammation is high. 

In acute inflammation it is seldom neces- 
sary to bleed more than once, but in chronic 
cases, as in founder, distemper, glanders, big 
head, and big jaw, it may be necessary to re- 
peat the operation a number of times, yet the 
quantity of blood taken should be less than in 
acute inflammation. 

We will now describe the operation of 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 125 

bleeding so plainly that any person of ordi- 
nary understanding and courage can success- 
fully carry out every part of it without danger 
of injuring the horse. The animal suffers no 
pain from the operation ; the small incision 
made in the skin and vein may sting and 
smart a little, but will not cause any suifering. 

The phlebotomist should preiDare himself 
with a fleam, made for the purpose, and very 
sharp, and also a hard or firm stick about one 
inch in diameter, twelve inches long, and not 
too heavy. 

Cord the horse's neck, near his shoulders, 
with one end of a rope, with a slip, that in 
case of necessity the cord can be easily 
slackened. The cord should be drawn only 
tight enough to make the jugular vein swell 
out. Often the cord is drawn tighter than 
necessary, under which pressure the horse 
gets restless. 

Having succeeded thus far, the operator 
will take his place at the left side of the horse's 
neck, with stick in his right hand and the 
fleam in his left. Place the fleam on the vein, 
give it a gentle pressure against the skin, then 
with the stick give it a suflicient blow to force 



126 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

it through the skin and into the vein. The 
blood will at once commence to flow freely, 
and continue until the cord is loosed, when it 
will stop at once. The edges of the skin, 
where the opening was made, should now be 
fastened together by means of a brass pin and 
a string, or piece of horse hair. One day and 
night is generally long enough for the pin to 
remain. This completes the bleeding. 

We have bled hundreds of horses, and have 
never seen any of the bad effects described in 
some of the little pamiDhlets styled "horse 
books," which only serve to misguide the 
reader and advertise the author's medicine. 

Having given the directions in reference to 
bleeding, we will now proceed to give direc- 
tions for the administration of medicine and 
general treatment of sick or diseased horses. 

THE CLYSTER. 

Any liquid medicine injected in the rectum 
is termed a clyster. This is done by the aid 
of a syringe. In extreme cases of lock-jaw 
and laryngitis the clyster is the only way that 
medicine can be administered, or that nutri- 
ment can be given. The throat is so swollen 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE, 127 

in laryngitis, and the jaws and muscles so 
firmly fixed in lock-jaw, that to give any thing 
by drenching is out of the question. 

In obstinate cases of scours or dysentery, a 
clyster of one ounce of laudanum, in a little 
warm water, or one tea-cupful of tea of the 
common blackberry root, injected will often 
relieve when other remedies fail. 

When the animal can not eat, he may be 
kept alive a long time by the administration 
of corn-meal gruel, made very thick; or, per- 
haps still better, would be to boil sweet milk 
and thicken with flour. When nutriments 
are given, the clyster should always be cooked. 

DRENCHING. 

This is, by far, the most common mode of 
giving medicine, and, if carefully carried out, 
is entirely safe. We will now give the plan 
in detail as practiced by us, which is simple 
and safe, both for the operator and patient. 

Prepare the drench of whatever kind de- 
sired ; put it in a bottle large enough to con- 
tain the drench, then procure a stick about 
four feet in length ; split open the end of it 
with an ax until a rope can be inserted ; tie a 



128 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

loop at the end of the rope as a plowman does 
for hand-hold ; insert one strand of the rope in 
the split ; wrap the rope around the stick to 
prevent it from coming off; place one strand 
of the loop in the horse's mouth, as you would 
the bridle bit, and let an assistant take hold 
of the stick and gently elevate his head until 
it is high enough, then turn the drench down 
the horse's throat. Do not pour too much 
into his mouth at one time ; allow him to 
lower his head after he has swallowed, and 
after he has rested a little while raise his 
head again and turn some more into his 
mouth ; keep on in this way until he has swal- 
lowed all that is necessary. If this course is 
pursued there will be no broken bridles, as is 
often the case when the horse is confined to 
a limb, and the horse will not strangle when 
drenched in this way. The horseman should 
always be kind and gentle to his horse, and 
especially so while drenching him. 

We enter our protest against drenching 
through the nostrils, because we have seen a 
number of horses injured in this way. We 
have seen one fine mare that was injured in 
this way; she was running at one of her nos- 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 129 

trils as freely as if she was in the last stage of 
glanders ; this trouble was caused by drenching 
dye-yeast through the nostrils. Another case 
was a fine gray horse belonging to Mr. J. S. 
Kennedy. The animal had been drenched 
through the nostrils with chloroform during a 
spell of colic. The chloroform had penetrated 
the lachrymal ducts, inflaming them. The in- 
flammation had extended to the eyes, and he 
had a severe cough. When we were called to 
treat the case, general fever and inflammation 
were very high ; the pulse was as high as sev- 
enty. We took the case with but little hope 
of efl'ecting a cure, as this was a new derange- 
ment to us — the books being silent on this sub- 
ject we were left to exercise our own judg- 
ment. 

First, we bled the horse to reduce the in- 
flammation ; then bathed his throat with Pene- 
trating Liniment; washed out his nostril with 
a decoction of tobacco, and applied the eye 
wash freely to the eyes ; he was then turned 
over to his owner, who continued the same 
treatment until the horse was permanently 
cured. 



Diseases of the Throat and Lungs. 



LARYNGITIS. 

This disease is confined to the upper part 
of the wind-pipe and surrounding glands, and 
soon proves fatal if not successfully treated, 
which is often difficult to do, by reason of sore- 
ness of throat and the difficulty the horse has 
in swallowing. 

Cause. — The principal cause of laryngitis is 
exposure to cold and chilly rains in the latter 
part of winter and early spring. 

The sudden changes in the temperature of 
the weather are sufficient in themselves to 
produce this disease. The thoughtless owner 
often rides his horse until his blood is warm, 
then confines him to a stake or tree, takes 
ofi^ his saddle, and leaves the animal exposed 
to a cold rain till he becomes chilled. Space 
forbids an enumeration of the exposures the 
horse is subjected to, all of which are sufficient 
to establish disease. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 131 

Symptoms. —The first symptoms are enlarged 
glands with sore throat, and next swelling and 
tenderness of the larynx, sometimes coughing. 
The head projects, the nose extends forward, 
by reason of the swollen condition of the throat 
and between the under jaws, the neck becomes 
stiff, the breathing is short, and can be heard 
for some distance, the patient drinks with dif- 
ficulty, the entire throat is involved and so 
swollen that it is almost impossible for him to 
swallow food or medicine. 

To Diagnose the Disease. — Place the ear to 
the chest, and if there is no obstruction heard 
there in his respiration, proceed up the wind- 
pipe with the ear, and if the difficulty is at 
the upper end of the same, together with the 
preceding symptoms just described, it will be 
safe to pronounce it laryngitis. The air can 
be plainly heard to pass out at the upper end 
of the windpipe. 

Treatment. — If the disease has advanced as 
far as described above, it will be difficult to 
drench, for by this time the throat is swollen 
so much that the patient can scarcely breathe. 
What is to be done must be done quickly. 
Bleed copiously from the neck; let the blood 



132 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

run freely until six quarts are extracted. 
Bathe the chest and under jaw with a strong 
decoction of tobacco, as hot as the animal can 
bear. Do this every four hours until the 
swelling is all gone. 

Bathe the throat and between the under 
jaw-bones with the Penetrating Liniment 
morning and night for the first day. After 
this bathe twice each day with the camphor- 
ated coal oil liniment. 

Confine to the horse's throat a poultice of 
boiled oats or cotton seed. If the horse can 
bear it, drench with the following. Take tw^o 
ounces of ginger and one ounce of gentian; 
boil them in water until the strength is all 
out; then give three doses, of three ounces 
each, of the tea, morning, noon, and night. 
Also mix together one ounce of chlorate of 
potash, three ounces tincture of golden seal, 
one ounce tartar emetic, and twelve ounces of 
water, and give one ounce of this compound 
morning, noon, and night. 

If the patient can not be drenched without 
strangling, give the remedies in the water he 
drinks. Never give him icy cold water. 

In this condition of the throat the horse 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 133 

can not eat. Give him as much corn meal 
gruel as he can be induced to drink. Keep 
the patient in a good, warm stable, or at least 
where he will be out of the wind. If the bow- 
els be constipated, move them by giving injec- 
tions of warm soap-suds every half hour until 
they are moved. If the muscles are con- 
tracted, showing signs of tetanus, bathe with 
salt water as directed for that disease. 

PNEUMONIA. 

This is a disease of the lungs, and is caused 
by the animal being overheated and allowed 
to cool off too quick. Sometimes by allowing 
him to stand out in cold rains until chilled, 
but occasionally a change of the weather from 
warm to cold is sufficient of itself to bring on 
the disease. 

Sym'ptoms, — The symptoms are not always 
the same in every particular. Some cases 
that have come under our observation com- 
menced by the animal rolling for some hours, 
as with colic. Others discharged from the 
nose large quantities of saliva of a white and 
frothy appearance. 

But the following symptoms are always 



134 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

present: After the disease has progressed for 
some hours the head will be drooped, the ears 
will j)rotrude to the right and left, the pulse 
will be feeble, but will run as high as sixty or 
seventy per minute. The animal will walk 
awkwardly, and sometimes stagger, the feet 
and ears will be very cold, the breathing will 
be hurried, the patient will stand with his 
forelegs wide apart, and as the disease pro- 
gresses they become more so ; he will stand 
upon his feet as long as he is able, and when 
he can no longer do so he will sink, after 
which he soon dies. There is a short and 
feeble cough from the beginning. Pneumonia 
often terminates in congestion of the lungs, 
the vessels become gorged with blood and are 
ruptured ; the air cells are filled with it. When 
this occurs the horse will die within a few 
hours. 

Sometimes the disease will linger for a long 
time in his system, and in such cases will ter- 
minate in consumption of the lungs. After 
death, upon examination, the lungs will be 
found filled with putrid matter. 

Acute pneumonia will run its course within 
a short time, often killing the horse within 



Diseases of the Horse. 135 

twenty-four hours. The lungs of such are 
found after death to be ruptured, and the air 
cells filled with blood. 

Treatment. — Bathe throat, neck, and chest 
with a decoction of tobacco as hot as the horse 
can bear it. If the pulse is strong and hard, 
bleed, taking half a gallon of blood ; if they 
are weak and irregular, do not bleed, but 
drench with four ounces of Epsom salts in one 
pint of water. 

Prepare the following : Take equal parts of 
gentian and ginger, boil until the strength is 
out ; strain and give one half pint of this tea 
every six hours ; bathe the feet and legs twice 
each day with warm salt water ; give green 
feed — corn must be excluded. Let the patient 
have all the water he will drink. 

COUGHS. 

Coughs are caused by exposure to cold, eat- 
ing moldy and dusty feed, and follow distem- 
per, bronchitis, and pneumonia. 

Treatment. — If the cough orignates from 
foul feed, the remedy will be to give the horse 
sound, wholesome food, and the cough will 
readily stop. A cough is not always so easily 



136 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

checked, but often proves obstinate. If it has 
its origin from some former disease the treat- 
ment will be tedious. Examine the little 
ducts, and if they are closed, or sending out 
matter, wash them out daily with warm to- 
bacco juice ; bathe the throat and chest three 
or four times daily with the same, and apply 
the camphorated coal oil to the throat once 
each dav for a week. If the couo-h does not 
stop, apply the Penetrating Liniment once 
each day for three days. Give daily one ta- 
ble-spoonful of the distemper preparation by 
placing it on the root of the tongue. 

If the cough is following some lung trouble, 
we know of no treatment that will do any per- 
manent good. Cure the disease that has 
caused it, and the cough will abate. 

BELLOWS, OR HEAVES. 

This disease causes difficult breathing, and 
generally has its origin in the lungs. We 
readily admit that we know of no remedy 
that can be relied upon to cure this disease, 
yet judicious care and feeding will, in most 
cases, relieve to some extent. 

Treatment. — Never give dusty hay or clover 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 137 

to the bellows horse ; keep him on clear oats 
or some relaxing diet. Never drive or work 
him while his stomach is full of fodder or hay. 
Give every second day one table-spoonful of 
the oil of tar with five drops of extract of as- 
safoetida just before his feed is given him ; do 
this for ten days or longer, if the patient is 
not relieved within that length of time. 

The Pulse. — The location and condition of 
the pulse is of the utmost importance to the 
practitioner ; in some instances it is the only 
means by which he can tell the condition of 
his patient. There is nothing that will guide 
him so correctly in determining when to bleed, 
and the amount of blood to be taken, and the 
administration of medicine as the pulse. If 
the pulse are quick and throbbing, bleed free- 
ly ; when they are weak and the animal debil- 
itated, do not bleed at all. But in chronic 
and long standing cases, such as big head and 
big-jaw, founder and fistula, the pulse will be 
full and corded: bleed freely at intervals of 
fifteen days. In inflammation of the bowels 
they will be small and wiry: bleed copiously. 
The horse's pulse can be found at the lower 
side of the lower jaw-bone ; there can be felt 
10 



138 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK, 

at that point, running across the jaw-bone, an 
artery that feels like a cord the size of a com- 
mon pipe-stem ; by pressing the fingers gently 
upon this, the pulse can be felt and the num- 
ber of beats clearly counted, which in the 
horse, in health, should be from thirty-five to 
forty per minute. When the horse is in health 
the pulse is soft and slow, unless there is 
some excitement of muscles or nerves. Fifty 
to sixty beats per minute always betray the 
presence of fever, and when the pulse is as 
high as eighty a fearful state of excitement is 
present. In tetanus, blind staggers, and 
laryngitis, the pulse will sometimes reach one 
hundred per minute. 



Animal Poisons. 



SNAKE BITES. 

;. The horse is not often snake bitten, yet it 
sometimes happens. The best known remedy 
to counteract the poison is large potions of 
proof whisky. One pint should be given at 
the commencement of treatment as a drench ; 
this should be done as soon as the animal is 
bitten. Give half a pint every hour afterward 
for six or eight hours. Wash the wound and 
inflamed parts every few minutes with the 
Penetrating Liniment. 

The symptoms are great swelling at the 
point bitten and the adjacent parts. The 
horse will refuse his feed ; will be very thirsty ; 
will soon manifest giddiness, and his eyes will 
look glassy. In the absence of whisky, give 
the horse three ounces of spirits of turpentine, 
and bathe the wound and surrounding parts 
with it. - 



I40 THE FARMER 'S HORSE BOOK. 

THE BORER WORM. 

This is the maggot of the borer fly that 
abounds on the great plains of the West; it 
is not found east of the Mississippi river. 
This fly follows the herds of cattle and horses 
without doing any injury to them until some 
animal receives a wound from which the blood 
is permitted to flow, when the flies will depos- 
it their eggs in the wound, and from that time 
on the poor animal is doomed to sufl^er great 
torment. Unless promptly treated, which is 
not easily done, the maggots will increase, 
both in size and number, and work their way 
into the flesh and under the skin ; the poor 
animal will lose flesh all the time, until he is 
at last compelled to succumb to these torment- 
ors to be eaten alive. 

Treatment. — The Penetrating Liniment is 
the best known remedy. Cut open the bunch 
containing these maggots, and freely apply 
the liniment, twice each day ; it will find its 
way to every part of the abscess, and as soon as 
these little pests are touched by it they will 
die. Not only will the liniment kill the mag- 
gots, but its curative and cleansing qualities, 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 141 

SO well adapted to heal and cure old sores, 
makes it the very remedy needed in this 
case. 

INTERNAL POISON. 

Our object is to warn against the use of 
such drugs as are given to improve the condi- 
tion of the horse. Many of these are poison- 
ous, but are so slow in their effects that they 
are often overlooked. The owner never sus- 
pecting that he has unwittingly been the cause 
of his horse's death by drugs given previously. 

SPANISH FLIES. 

This medicine is often given during the 
breeding season to excite the horse. The man 
who is guilty of such an act should not have 
the patronage of respectable people. If this 
practice should accomplish the end sought, by 
exciting the horse for a short time, it will by 
no means increase the number of colts : such 
colts will be weak and deficient in form. If 
this practice is kept up with the horse, he will 
soon become useless for breeding purposes ; 
he will always suffer with colic, and his kid- 
neys will become diseased. 



142 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

We know of no remedy for poison of this 
kind, and the man who willfully administers 
medicine of this kind, for the purpose named 
above, deserves nothing better than to lose 
his horse. 

NUX VOMICA. 

This is used to purify the blood and improve 
the general condition of the horse, but it in- 
jures the teeth and stomach, and causes a de- 
rangement of the bowels. Nux vomica may 
appear to improve the condition of the horse 
for a time, but the injurious effects that often 
follow its use make it altogether hazardous to 
give it to the horse. 

The injurious eft'ects manifest themselves by 
a hot breath, irregular pulse, the saliva is 
stringy, the eyes are a whitish-yellow, excess- 
ive flow of urine, and in the last stage convul- 
sions and then death. 

Treatment. — Give the horse a drench of lard, 
and one hour later eight raw eggs. Evacuate 
his bowels as soon as possible, by giving a 
clyster of lard, which should be repeated 
every hour until a free movement of the bow- 
els is obtained, Grive the animal plenty of 
sulphur and resin for three weeks. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 143 

COPPERAS. 

This injures the teeth and stomach, and for 
that reason should be discarded altogether in 
the treatment of the horse. 

TINCTURE OF ACONITE. 

This is a deadly poison, if given in over- 
doses, but can be given with benefit in fevers. 

Dose. — Twenty-five drops every four hours, 
until four doses are given ; and after a lapse 
of eight hours, give again. 

CREOSOTE. 

This medicine will prove fatal if given in 
overdoses, but from ten to twelve drops may 
be given in colic with safety. 

MAY APPLE. 

This is very drastic ; if given in large quan- 
tities will prove fatal, and for this reason it 
should never be given to the horse. If the 
horse should need a purgative, there are other 
medicines more harmless and safe that can be 
given. The root of the May Apple, when 
properly prepared into a salve, constitutes one 
of the best remedies where pus has formed, as 
in "fistula" and "poll- evil." 



144 ^^^ FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

POISON OAK. 

This plant is found on the trunks of trees 
growing upon rich land ; it is more abundant 
on cultivated land than elsewhere. The horse 
will eat of the vine which seems to do him no 
injury, except to poison his nose, producing 
blisters that form into scabs. 

Treatment. — To one pint of water add one 
table-spoonful of tincture of golden seal ; 
wash the inflamed parts with this preparation 
in the morning, and grease them at night. 
Wash oif the grease on the following morning 
and bathe again with the golden seal ; repeat 
this daily until the sores are healed and the 
inflammation gone, which will require only a 
few days. 

POLK ROOT. 

This is a violent poison, and dangerous, if 
administered to the horse in any quantity, no 
matter how small. 

Give, as an antidote, one pint of grease, or 
sweet oil, with six eggs broken into it, as a 
drench. Follow this, one hour later, with a 
drench of half a pound of Epsom salts, dis- 
solved in warm water; evacuate the bowels 
with an injection of warm soap-suds. 



Care and General Treatment. 



This subject is one of vital importance to 
every horse owner, for here is laid the founda- 
tion for almost every ailment that horse flesh 
is heir to. 

We give, as our opinion, founded upon an 
experience of many years' practice and close 
observation, that no disease of the horse is 
hereditary. It is true, the mare afflicted with 
colt founder, gravel, and some other diseases, 
during pregnancy, brings her offspring into 
the world feeble and weak, and in a majority 
of cases they soon sicken and die. The fever 
of the mother, before the colt was born, has 
enfeebled him ; or, if he was well at birth and 
able to suck, the fevered milk of the mother 
would make him sick, either with kidney 
troubles of some character, or, if possible, 
worse, obstinate costiveness of the bowels, or 
scours. 

No mare, afflicted with any disease that 
produces during gestation, should be selected 



146 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

as a brood mare. Her disease is always made 
worse by breeding, and, as has already been 
intimated, she brings a weakly colt into the 
world soon to sicken and die. Hence, the im- 
portance of selecting the most healthy and 
vigorous mares to raise from. 

Some breeders prefer the spring season as 
the best time to breed the mare ; while others 
prefer the fall season. The circumstances 
should have much to do with the time selected. 
If the mare is kept for breeding purposes 
alone, and does not work during the spring 
and summer months, and is kept upon a good 
pasture, we would prefer that she bring her 
foal in the spring ; but if she has to work dur- 
ing the summer on the farm, and is then 
allowed to rest during the autumn and winter 
months, we would prefer that she bring her 
colt late in the summer or early in the fall, for 
the following reasons : If the mare is allowed 
rest and pasture for several months after the 
colt is born, her milk, which is the only feed 
the suckling should be compelled to subsist 
on, will be clear of fever, and more abundant, 
than if she was compelled to subsist on dry 
feed. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 147 

It is a wonder the mare gives suck at all 
that has been fed only on dry corn and hay, 
and at the same time compelled to work hard 
all summer. But the greatest wonder of all 
is that the colt that is compelled to drink such 
milk should live through the sucking season. 
Doubtless he would not if it were not for the 
green grass he eats during his stay on the 
farm while his dam is at work in the plow. 

The farmer who keeps a mare for both 
labor and breeding purposes generally prefers 
that she bring her foal in the spring season. 
In some cases this will do, while in others it 
will not. Such mares are generally confined 
in the stable and highly fed on dry feed the 
last few months of pregnancy, the very thing 
that should not be done. If she must be fed 
on dry feed alone during the time she is 
carrying her colt, let it be in the early 
months. 

The high feeding and confinement described 
above are sure to create fever, of which the 
foal will suffer in consequence. 

The mare need not be made fat enough for 
the butcher stock to produce a good colt. It 
is true she should be cared for and fed all she 



148 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

needs, but food should be a light and nutritious 
diet. 

DISEASES OF YOUNG COLTS. 

There are only two diseases common to the 
young colt — namely : bowel troubles and uri- 
nary. Costiveness of the bowels and scours 
are common with the colt the first few days of 
its life. Its urinary organs are often diseased 
from its birth ; this may consist of suppres- 
sion of the urine, or of bloody urine. 

Cause, — The cause of disease at so early an 
age of the colt can not be traced to any other 
cause than the diseased condition of the moth- 
er before the birth of the colt, or the fevered 
condition of her milk. 

Treatment. — If the trouble be suppression 
of the urine, examine the end of the penis, 
and if there is any obstruction there, which is 
sometimes the case, remove it by washing the 
affected part with warm soap-suds ; this will 
relieve the patient at once. If there should 
be found a covering of skin that prevents the 
flow of urine, make an opening for it with the 
point of a sharp knife. Bloody urine nearly 
always j^roves fatal to the young colt. The 
only safe way to treat them for this disease is 



\ 



\ 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 149 

through the mother's milk ; to give medicine 
to the colt is extremely hazardous. 

Particular attention should be given to the 
mare in regard to feeding. Remove from her 
all heating feed, and give her daily one table- 
spoonful of the Renovating Powders ; also 
each morning give her one half ounce of spirits 
nitre in a little cold water, and at night repeat 
this drench. 

For constipation, give the mother a drench 
of one half pound of Epsom salts, and give 
the colt an injection of melted lard. 

For scours, the mare should be drenched 
with one half pint of tea, made by boiling the 
root of the blackberry. Give the colt a clyster 
of forty drops of laudanum in a little water in 
which one tea-spoonful of Epsom salts has been 
dissolved. 

Some horsemen have an unchangeable rule 
of feeding their horse the same quantity of 
food, whether at work or not, whether in 
winter or summer, which often does irrepar- 
able injury. There is more reason to expect 
the horse to thrive and enjoy health under 
such circumstances than his owner. We 
know of no better way to convince the farmer 



I50 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

or horseman of his mistakes in this particular 
than to ask him what his own needs are re- 
garding diet. Does he eat the same quantity 
of food when he is idle that he does when at 
hard labor? We know he does not; his sys- 
tem and appetite does not demand it; his 
stomach could not digest it if he did. It is a 
law of nature that we must not violate, that 
when our labor or exercise is light our diet 
must also be light, either in quantity or qual- 
ity. If this be true in regard to man, is it 
not equally true in respect to the horse ? Not 
only should the horseman be careful with ref- 
erence to the quantity of feed given at all 
times to his horse, but nothing is of more im- 
portance than the quality of feed. The horse 
that is fed upon molded fodder, corn, or hay, 
can not thrive, and will soon become diseased 
from the use of such food. From this kind of 
treatment originate obstinate and distressing 
coughs, inflammation of the kidneys and blad- 
der, indigestion and derangement of the bow- 
els. One ailment after another will follow 
until the horse dies. 

The water that the horse drinks is another 
matter of importance that is too often neg- 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 151 

lected. If the food given the horse tells so 
soon on his system and destroys his health, 
will not the water he drinks from cess-pools 
and stagnant ponds also injure his health ? 
The ox, it is true, prefers the water of ponds 
and from the mud holes in the road, but not 
so with the horse. It often happens that the 
horse is taken from home, where pure water 
has been furnished him, and placed upon the 
road where he has access only to stagnant 
water, which he is apt to refuse. He will 
almost famish before he will drink such water. 
Too many farmers are ready to conclude 
that so long as the horse will drink from the 
ponds that this water is good enough. We 
suppose if man was placed where the poor but 
faithful animal is, under the control of and 
subject to the will of others, and was not con- 
sulted as to his wishes, that he would relish 
such water. Such treatment of our faithful 
servant, the horse, is wrong. Our pecuniary 
interest forbids such a course ; our humanity 
should forbid it. A man has no right to so 
abuse that which a merciful Creator has placed 
here for his benefit. 



152 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

STABLE MANAGEMENT. 

The horse should be furnished with good, 
comfortable quarters to shelter him from the 
winter's blast. The stall should be large 
enough for him to turn around in and also to 
lie down his full length and rest himself. 

Often a horse is compelled to remain upon 
his feet all night on account of his stall being 
too small The stall should be kept clean; 
the decomposing manure should be removed 
every day. Nothing will bring on diseases of 
the feet sooner than to compel the horse to 
stand in filth and mire through the long win- 
ter months. Such treatment will cause hoof- 
rot, corns, contraction of the foot, or narrow- 
heel, grease, navicular disease, ring-bone, 
thrush, and scratches. There is no ailment of 
the horse but what is made worse by a dis- 
eased condition of the feet. 

The horse should not be confined in his 
stall when the w^eather is favorable. Have a 
lot adjacent to the stable that he may exercise 
himself in, if a pasture can not be provided, 
keep salt and wood-ashes in the feeding trough 
at all times ; this will correct the acidity of 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 153 

the stomach and aid digestion. Some farmers 
consider it sufficient if the horse has access to 
salt every few days, but the better plan is to 
allow him to have it daily. 

The farmer is thoughtful enough to give salt 
to his horses, especially young colts, while on 
the pasture, thinking that the horse on green 
feed needs salt more than one on dry feed ; but 
it is just the reverse. True, both the corn 
and grass-fed horse needs salt, but if either is 
to be neglected, let it be the horse that is kept 
on green feed. 

PASTURING. 

To j)lace the horse in the open air, where 
the pleasant rays of the sun can fall upon him 
is to place him in his natural element; here 
he is at liberty to roam over the pasture, and 
feed at will, which is his chief delight — this is 
manifested by his actions. 

What horseman has not watched with pleas- 
ure the actions of his horse that has been con- 
fined in the stable for a time, and then given 
his liberty upon the pasture? Before he 
would stop to partake of the delicious grasses 
or clover, he would run and play as he had 
II 



154 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK, 

not done for months past. If it gives our 
horse such pleasure to have his liberties for a 
short time, after he has faithfully and uncom- 
plainingly served us, is it not our duty to pro- 
vide him with a pasture ? 

Giving the animal his liberties, which he so 
much enjoys, is the smallest matter of consid- 
eration in connection with pasturing. The 
health of the horse, the saving in feed, with 
other advantages too numerous to mention, 
make the subject one of vital importance to 
every horse owner. 

The horse that is regularly pastured is sel- 
dom diseased. As a proof of this, go to the 
grassy plains of the far West, where the ani- 
mal is a stranger to corn and fodder ; and, 
where his only food is that provided by nat- 
ure. Here, in a herd of hundreds together, 
with no shelter to protect him from the storms 
of winter, we find the horse in his most per- 
fect state, almost clear of disease, and the age 
to which he often attains is almost thrice that 
of the stable-fed horse. 



I 



DISEASES OF THE HORSEl. 155 



THE YOUNG COLT AND HIS TREATMENT. 

The healthy young colt will require but lit- 
tle attention during the sucking season — which 
should be about six months — this, however, 
depends upon conditions. If the colt is feeble 
and weak, or if pasture can not be provided 
for him, he should not be weaned until it can 
be furnished. When the time arrives to wean 
the colt, he should be removed a sufficient dis- 
tance from the mother that he can not hear 
nor see her, and he will soon forget her. 

The colt should now have the very best at- 
tention possible, especially as regards his diet. 
He should be provid<Kl with a green pasture to 
start on. He is not able to masticate the hard 
corn, for his teeth are young and tender, his 
system and stomach are not adapted to such 
heating food — derangement of the bowels and 
stomach would be the result. 

The colt should be provided with a green 
pasture the Urst winter after he is weaned, of 
which none is better than a field of rye. Do 
not try to carry him through the winter on 
corn and other dry feed, for it will dry up his 
blood, and generate or produce many of the 



156 THE Farmer^ s Horse Book. 

troublesome skin diseases, such as surfeit, 
mange, and vermin. 

The subject of stabling the young colt is 
highly important ; too much attention can not 
be paid to this part of his treatment; he is 
too often turned out to shift for himself, with- 
out shelter, while the grown horse is carefully 
cared for. This is another grave mistake. All 
horses should be well housed in winter, but if 
any are to be deprived of this comfort, let it 
be the grown horse. 

If corn is fed to the colt, it should be chop- 
ped, as his front teeth are too young and ten- 
der to bite it off of the cob, and his jaw-teeth 
are not sufficiently strong to masticate it. 

TEETHING. 

In discussing this subject we will only speak 
of the teeth of the colt after he is weaned. 
Perhaps but few horsemen know the extent 
of the fever about the mouth and gums of the 
colt during the period of cutting and shed- 
ding the teeth ; nor the danger there is of oth- 
er more serious troubles arising at this time. 

The fever and inflammation about the head 
will often affect the eyes, and cause them to 



Diseases of the horse. 157 

become diseased or inflamed, which will in- 
crease from month to month until the animal 
goes blind. 

The bad condition of many colts is due to 
the attendant fever at shedding and cutting 
teeth. The bowels at this period are often de- 
ranged : they will be either too constipated, or 
too loose. These ailments are often caused by 
the fevered state of the mouth. 

A free use of sulphur, with a continued sup- 
ply of wood-ashes in the feed trough, is the 
treatment or preventive in this case. The 
wood-ashes will correct the stomach and di- 
gestive organs, while the sulphur will prevent 
the fever, and also keep off vermin, from which 
thousands of colts die annually. 

Though it will be a little digression from 
the subject, we will here warn the unthought- 
ful of the danger at weaning period that the 
mare is in when the colt is taken from her. 

The milk will accumulate, and if not kept 
milked out, will very soon produce fever. 

The feed of the mare should be reduced as 
soon as the colt is taken away, and sulphur 
and resin given her until the milk is entirely 
dried up. 



158 The Farmer's Horse book. 

GRAIN. 

The horse that is regularly worked should 
be allowed a good share of grain, but, as 
already stated, the amount should vary ac- 
cording to the labor performed and the condi- 
tion of the animal. If he is in good health 
and at work, liberal feeding will suffice ; but if 
idle, in low condition, or bad health, the quan- 
tity of grain should be small. 

There are only two kinds of grain fed to the 
horse in this country to a considerable extent, 
viz. : oats and corn. The former is decidedly 
the better, because it is not so heating in its 
nature. It is light and easily digested. The 
horse can eat it with impunity. In a practice 
of twenty years we have never been called 
upon to treat a horse made sick from eating 
oats. 

Corn is objectionable as a food for the horse 
for many reasons. The fat created by its use 
is not so healthy as that made by feeding oats 
and other more light and digestible food. 
Corn is a heavy diet and very heating. It is 
the cause of more diseases of the horse than 
all other articles of diet combined. It pro- 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 159 

duces a long list of diseases scarcely known in 
those countries where it is not fed at all. The 
horse that is fed exclusively on corn is seldom 
well. Flesh that is suddenly formed is never 
so solid and healthy as that which is formed 
slowly. It is our opinion that more horses 
are destroyed annually in the United States 
by excessive feeding on corn than by all other 
causes combined. Large numbers of fine 
specimens of young horses and colts have 
been ruined by overfeeding with corn. Old 
horses do much better fed on corn than the 
young, the chief difficulty with the young 
being the fevered state of the gums brought 
on by such feed. 

Some horses do not masticate the grain suf- 
ficiently, if in which case it is swallowed, the 
stomach is taxed to digest it and colic ensues. 
Many of the troubles arising from feeding- 
corn, as indigestion, sour stomach, and colic, 
might be obviated by having the grain ground 
at the mill. If the feed was prepared in this 
way, a less quantity would suffice. Enough 
would be saved in feed alone to pay the toll at 
the mill, and the horse preserved from much 
suffering. 



i6o THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK, 

Wheat and rye are wholesome feed for 
horses, but should also be chopped. Wheat 
bran is also good when mixed with other food. 
All chopped feed should be mixed with water 
before given to the horse. 

WINTER FEED. 

It is highly conducive to the horse's health 
to provide for him as much as one feed each 
day during the winter, of either pumpkins, 
potatoes, carrots, turnips, or cabbage, of which 
he will partake greedily. If this course was 
pursued by our farmers there would be fewer 
diseases among their horses, besides, they 
would be lively, fat, and sleek. 

CLEANSING AND CURRYING. 

It can not be truthfully said that a horse is 
well cared for unless he is regularly curried 
and rubbed. The curry-comb and brush may 
be regarded as the sheet-anchor of all well- 
managed stables. 

The horse that is kept all the time on a 
pasture does not need grooming as much as 
one confined in a stable. Horses kept con- 
stantly confined in the stable require regular 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. i6i 

cleansing, and the horse that has been driven 
on the road until his legs, belly, and perhaps 
his entire body, is covered with mud, should 
not be allowed to stand all night in this condi- 
tion, but should be cleansed as soon as possi- 
ble. Wash the mud oif his legs, rub them 
dry, and if he has been driven very hard, 
bathe the legs with warm salt water. This 
will prevent soreness and fever, which always 
follow such abuse. 

The confinement and darkness of the stable 
are unfavorable to the action of the pores of 
the skin. The pores do not throw out their 
oily secretions to the surface so readily when 
the horse is confined in the stable as when he 
is on the pasture, or in the open air, neither 
do the dead particles of the scarf-skin detach 
themselves at the proper time so quickly. 
The sunshine and rain will loosen and soften 
the scarf-skin, while the horse is in the open 
air, and for this reason he does not need the 
care and grooming that he does when confined 
in the stable. 

Nature needs assistance, if the horse is con- 
fined to the stable, to keep the skin healthy 
and give the hair its live and glossy appear- 



i62 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

ance always present in health ; hence, the 
necessity of the curry-comb and brush being 
applied often with the addition of an occa- 
sional washing with water, in the summer 
season, which will ameliorate the horse's 
prison life. 

There is always large quantities of dust 
continually passing through the air in the 
stable, Avhich lodges upon the horse and finds 
its way to the skin, where it closes the pores 
and creates more or less fever. This dust 
should be removed at least twice a day with 
the curry-comb and brush. 

Not only should the hair on the body of the 
horse be well cleansed, but his legs should 
receive the same attention. By this means of 
cleansing, the pores are kept open, the skin is 
warmed, the hair is oiled and kept alive by 
nature's own fountain. The marked difference 
in the appearance of a horse regularly curried 
and rubbed and one that is neglected is appar- 
ent to the least observant. Currying and 
rubbing are as essential in all skin diseases as 
medicine, and sometimes more so. 

If the horse is allowed no more exercise 
than going from his stall out into the open air 



Diseases of the hor^e. 163 

and there remain until he is well rubbed, it 
will give him great relief and he will be much 
better contented for some hours after his 
return than before. 

The curry-comb should not be too sharp. 
The skin of some horses is very thin and 
sensitive; such .animals should be cleaned 
with a brush and coarse woolen cloth. Noth- 
ing gives the hair a more lively and glossy 
appearance than a woolen cloth, and by no 
other way can the soreness be so well rubbed 
out of the legs of the tired and wearied horse 
than with a cloth or the hand. By this 
means the circulation is increased, the muscles 
and sinews that are sore and contracted are 
relaxed, and the horse can lie down and take 
his needed rest with comfort. 

CHANGES OF TEMPERATURE. 

A wise Creator has well arranged all his 
works, and in nothing is his wisdom made 
more clearly manifest than in the adaptability 
of the winter coat given the animal creation, 
for their protection against the cold blasts, the 
chilly rains, the bleak snows, and biting frosts 
of the winter season. There is a wonderful 



i64 The Farmer's horse book. 

provision by nature for this purpose in ar- 
rangement of the varying conditions of the 
skin. The opening of the pores as summer 
approaches, and their closing as winter draws 
near, is necessary for the comfort and health 
of the horse. 

Another admirable adaptation to the sur- 
rounding circumstances and influences is 
shown by the increased growth of the hair on 
the approach of winter, when it is needed for 
the animal's protection, and then by its grad- 
ual falling off at the return of spring, when it 
is not needed. These changes that nature 
makes are seldom attended by any inconven- 
ience or injury to the horse, but there are 
other changes he is subject to, brought about 
by man, that often aifects his health. 

One of the unfavorable changes is brought 
about by taking the horse out of a comfortable 
stall into chilling rain or falling snow ; another 
is by driving him very hard, or until his blood 
is warm, and then hitching him out in the cold 
mud or storm. The horse should never be 
turned out into an open lot or pasture to spend 
a winter's night after a hard day's drive. On 
account of these, and many other changes of 



Diseases of the Horse. 165 

which the horse is subject to, he often falls a 
victim to disease, especially of the lungs, feet, 
and skin. If we are compelled to leave our 
horse out in the open air, in unfavorable 
weather, it would be an act of humanity and 
economy to give him a blanket. 

BLANKETING. 

Money could not be spent more economical- 
ly than in purchasing a good blanket for the 
horse ; it would last for years, and save the 
horse much suffering. 

A stable sufficiently open to be comfortable 
in summer, is not adequately warm in winter, 
without additional covering. We much pre- 
fer the stables to be sufficiently open in sum- 
mer, but should be so constructed that they 
can be closed in winter, or the blanket pro- 
vided, which would be cheaper, and we be- 
lieve better. The horse is sometimes placed 
in the stable chilled and wet with rain, when 
the weather is not freezing cold ; in such a 
case, the blanket should be placed over him 
until his hair is dry, then removed. 



[66 



The Farmer's horse Book. 



DISINFECTANTS. 

The crowded stables are the ones most in 
need of disinfectants. The livery stable is 
never properly kept unless a liberal use of dis- 
infectants form one feature of its management ; 
and no horse is safe when confined in a stable 
with a large number of strange horses, unless 
this course is pursued. Distemper, glanders 
and mange, are often lurking in the stable 
long before the owner is aware of its presence. 
Where strange horses continually come and go 
there is no assurance that a diseased horse has 
not been among them. Glanders may exist 
in an incipient form for weeks or for months, 
without being detected, yet it is highly con- 
tagious all the time. 

Tobacco, lime, and sulphur, are the best 
disinfectants known, for stable purposes. To- 
bacco is an antidote for glanders and distem- 
per, and if it is used in the manner prescribed 
elsewhere, as a disinfectant for these diseases, 
there need not be any fears of the disease 
spreading. 

Tobacco will cure olanders in its worse 
stage, often when other remedies fail, and is 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 167 

the only substance that can be fully relied on 
as a disinfectant of this disease. Some of the 
leaves of tobacco burned in the stable, while 
the horse is present, will work wonders in 
keeping off the disease, and greatly improve 
the hygienic condition of the building; and 
should any infection be lurking there undis- 
covered, the tobacco smoke will effectually 
drive it away. 

Tobacco does not only change the qualities 
of the infected atmosphere, but its virtue con- 
sists in its action upon the horse's system, 
neutralizing the poison, the very source of the 
disease. 

Sulphur is well known as a disinfectant of 
great worth for those types of diseases which 
generate foulness and putridity within the 
system. For this reason it should be freely 
administered to the horse. It may be em- 
ployed by fumigation to decided advantage. 
When burned in the atmosphere, sulphurous 
gas is formed, which is of great value in coun- 
teracting contagious influences. 

Lime is highly esteemed as a disinfectant to 
counteract the evil effects of decomposition of 
vegetable matter. It should be placed in a 



l68 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

vessel and kept wet. It will neutralize the 
odor and injurious gases arising from rotting 
manure. 

If a glandered horse has been in the stable, 
the manger and all parts of the stall where 
any of the discharges from the nose of the 
diseased horse could be left should be washed 
with strong lime water. 

Where it is known that a contagion has 
lately existed in a stable, tobacco may be relied 
on as the only safeguard, though we do not 
mean by this the additional use of lime and 
sulphur is to be discarded. Keep finely-pul- 
verized tobacco in the feeding trough for some 
time after the contagion has disappeared. 

EXERCISE. 

Horses should have daily exercise in some 
way; the one on the farm generally has 
enough of this in his routine of farm labor, 
but the one that is kept for pleasure, and that 
spends most of his time in the stable, is the 
one that suffers most for exercise. Such a 
one should have regular exercise to prevent 
his legs from swelling, and becoming stiff and 
puffing at the joints. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 169 

Exercise will improve the spirit and gen- 
eral condition, and will prevent disease. The 
exercise for the pampered horse should be 
mild, for they are not capable of bearing much 
fatigue. ^ Horsemen should be very careful in 
working the unexercised horse — great evils 
have resulted from this unthoughtful course. 
Lock-jaw has resulted from pampered horses^ 
being driven until their fat was overheated,, 
and partially dissolved. 

In consequence of such mismanagement 
many of the best horses in our country have 
failed, while if they had been exercised with 
care until they became habituated to hard la- 
bor, they would have been serviceable for a 
long time, without any suffering or disease. 
. The most suitable time for putting the 
young, or the pampered horse to work, is in 
the spring or autumn season, while the 
weather is cool ; his work should not only be 
light, but he should not be worked only a few 
hours at a time during the first days, and as 
he becomes accustomed to his work increase 
his time per day and also weight of draught. 
Many a horse has been ruined for life by being 
loaded too heavy at the first, or by being 
12 



I70 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

driven until his strength was exhausted and 
he was compelled to stop. If such a horse 
had been given a few minutes' rest, before he 
was forced to stop fi*om exhaustion, he would 
have been willing to resume his labor; but 
instead of the needed rest being given him, 
the ignorant and unfeeling driver applies his 
whip, which should never be done. Those 
who have never tried it will be surprised to 
see the happy eifect produced by going to the 
head of the young horse, when he is exhausted 
and fretful, and rubbing his nose, patting his 
head, and at the same time using kind words. 

Exercise should be proportioned to the 
horse's age, the young horse requires more 
than the old. Young animals of every kind 
have a disposition to activity, but the exercise 
should not be violent ; much depends upon 
the manner in which it is given. To promote 
the health and preserve the temper of the 
animal, the exercise should be moderate at the 
beginning and ending. The horse may be 
pushed out of a walk into a trot, or even into 
a gallop at the middle of the exercise, but he 
should be brought in cool and quiet. 

The untamed horse should never be in- 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 171 

trusted to boys or the inexperienced horseman ; 
the owner should have him exercised, within 
his own sight, nor should the young horse be 
driven over a strange road ; and for hours he 
should have the association of some horse he 
is acquainted with driven or led by his side. 
If the necessary care were taken by the owner 
in the selection of the person selected to 
handle his horse, he would thereby avoid 
many of the accidents common in breaking 
and exercising his horses. It should be the 
owner's pleasure to see that a judicious course 
or system was pursued in the handling of his 
horses ; and ever know it would be to his in- 
terest to do so ; for he would save himself the 
expense of many repairs, and often the price 
of a valuable horse. 

MARKS OF AGE. 

The general appearance and shape of the 
teeth constitute one of the most reliable means 
of determining the age of the horse, and with 
other circumstances which the experienced 
horseman can always ascertain full particulars, 
if it be possible to do so, form a quite accurate 
mark of age, until the animal is passed his 



172 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

prime. The names of the three kinds of teeth 
found in the horse's mouth are the molars, or 
jaw teeth, the incisors, or front teeth, the 
canine, or tushes. When the colt is foaled, or 
within two or three days afterward, it shows 
two grinders on each side above and below, 
making eight altogether. At about twelve 
days old it will show four front teeth or nip- 
pers, two above and two below, and at the age 
of one month four more nippers will a]3pear 
by the side of the first four. The third pair 
of nippers, or corner teeth, will appear in the 
mouth at eight months old. At the age of 
one year, the central and second pair of nip- 
pers are worn down nearly level, and the cor- 
ner teeth are becoming worn down. At two 
years old, the marks or kernel, in the middle 
of the crown of the tooth is quite worn from 
all the front teeth. About this time, begins 
the shedding of the milk teeth, to make room 
for others more firm and durable. This proc- 
ess begins with first grinders. Between the 
third and fourth year the central nippers are 
shed, and their places supplied with others ; 
and in the fourth year the same changes take 
place with the second four nippers ; and at the 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. i'jt, 

beginning of the fifth year, the tushes, or 
bridle teeth, as they are often called, make 
their appearance. After this the mouth is 
said to be full. The horse, at six years old, 
will have the kernels of the nippers of the 
lower jaw quite worn out, and the tushes by 
this time will have attained their full growth. 
The horse, at seven years of age, has worn out 
the kernels of the second pair of nippers in 
the lower jaw. By this time a hook has been 
formed on the corner teeth of the upper jaw, 
and the tushes plainly show the effects of wear. 
The kernel is worn away from all the nippers 
of the lower, and is growing less conspicuous 
in the central j^air of the upper jaw, at eight 
years old, and during the ninth year, the ker- 
nel of the central j)air of nippers of the upper 
jaw, is wholly obliterated ; the hook on the 
corner teeth becomes more conspicuous, and 
they are worn dull and blunt. During the 
tenth year, the kernels of the second pair of 
nippers of the upi^er jaw, will disappear, and 
from the corner teeth during the eleventh year. 
At twelve years old the teeth of the lower 
jaw have become triangular, and the tushes 
much worn down. As the horse advances in 



174 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

age, the teeth take on a long narrow shape, 
the gums will shrink away from them, and 
grow down between the teeth. 

The teeth of the horse until he is eight or 
nine years old is, perhaps, the best means of 
telling his age, but after that time the best 
judges are often deceived. Some teeth show 
age and wear much earlier than others. The 
feed has much to do with the teeth. The 
horse that has spent his time, mostly, in the 
stable, and has been fed from the trough, has 
not worn down his teeth as the horse that has 
been on the pastures on sandy lands, or that 
has spent much of his time on the commons 
or in canebrakes. Some horses exhibit but 
little change in the teeth after they are nine 
years old ; some have been judged to be only 
seven or eight when they were in the teens. 
Some horses never have hooks to their corner 
teeth. The teeth of the old horse are never 
so clear and white as they are in the young, 
because the teeth lose their enamel as the 
horse advances in age. The horse that suffers 
from sour stomach will have foul teeth. The 
teeth are a much better criterion to judge the age 
in some breeds of horses than in others. The 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 175 

stock of horses that is long-lived will not show 
their age by their teeth so soon as those that 
are short-lived. The compact and well-devel- 
oped will not show the marks of age so early 
as the tall bony horse. 

. The Texas pony, which we have not tried to 
improve by cross-breeding, are much longer- 
lived, are hardier, and live to three times the 
age of our stable-fed horses. His teeth, like 
his vital energies, hold out much longer. The 
tushes are exposed to but litte wear ; the fric- 
tion caused by the feed passing over them is 
about all there is to wear them, and from the 
bit occasionally striking them, and their alter- 
ation of form, although as we have described it 
is frequently uncertain. The tush will some- 
times be dull and blunt at eight or nine, and 
in another horse will be sharp at a very great 
age. The upper tushes are the latest to ap- 
pear in the mouth and are the soonest to be 
worn away. 

There are other circumstances which will 
enable us to guess at the horse's age with con- 
siderable accuracy until he is very old. At 
eight years old the upper surface of the nip- 
pers are oval, but as the horse advances in age. 



176 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

the teeth diminish in size ; this change com- 
mences in their width and not in their thick- 
ness. They become a little apart, and their 
surface is oval and round. At nine the cen- 
tral nippers are plainly so. At ten the others 
begin to have this oval shortness. At eleven 
the second pair of nippers are rounded, and at 
thirteen the corner ones have that appearance. 
At fourteen the face of the central nij^pers be- 
come triangular. At seventeen they are all 
triangular. At nineteen the angle begins to 
wear off and the central again oval. We do 
not claim perfect accuracy in the above marks 
of age, or that they appear the same on every 
horse's teeth, although they are recognized by 
horsemen generally as being tolerably correct. 
The curb-bit or stump-sucker, as they are com- 
monly called, wear off their upper front teeth 
very early. At nine years of age the bars of 
the mouth will begin to diminish, and will 
continue to do so as he advances in years. At 
twelve the lower nippers change their upright 
position and project forward, and change to 
yellow color. 

There are other marks of age that will as- 
sist the horseman in determining the age of 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 177 

the horse, or at least they are distinctive 
marks of old age. Much may be learned of the 
age from the skin, the lij^s, chin, hair, and 
eyes. The hair over the eyes and upon the 
face and forehead of many horses turn gray, 
generally commencing to gray at from ten to 
twelve years old, and increasing each suc- 
cessive year, and at fifteen has become a 
distinct mark of age. After the gray horse 
has passed his fifteenth or sixteenth year, he 
will often become speckled with little black 
spots, he is then called flea-bitten. This change 
is said to not take place until the animal is at 
least twelve years of age, which is generally 
correct but not always so. The lips do not afford 
a precise index of any particular age, but after 
eight or nine the upper lips will sometimes 
shorten and contract, while the under one will 
lengthen and drop down, and as he advances 
in age the lips will wrinkle. Between the 
eighth and twelfth year the lower jaw-bone 
near the chin becomes sharp, and increases in 
sharpness as the horse advances in years. The 
skin on the lower jaw-bone shrinks away and 
instead of the roundness and fullness that is 
present with the young horse there now seems 



178 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

h ollowness or depression, and the outer edges 
or angles of the jaw-bones will curve or bend 
outward more and more. The eyes in ad- 
vanced age lose their brilliancy, the ball flat- 
tens and the hollows over them deeper, wrinkles 
make their appearance on the under lids at an 
early age. By many these are considered as 
correct a criterion by which to determine the 
age of the horse as by the teeth. It is 
claimed by some that these make their ap« 
pearance at three years of age ; and all that is 
necessary to determine the age of the horse is 
to count the wrinkles, adding three to the num- 
ber of the wrinkles. We do not vouch for the 
absolute correctness of the above method, yet 
one thing is certainly true, that numerous 
wrinkles are a mark of old age. The skin of 
the young horse is lively and pliant, while 
that of the old is the reverse. If the skin 
on the neck or jaws of the young horse is 
picked up with the finger and thumb, and is 
pulled out from the horse and held for a short 
time and then released, it at once resumes its 
place ; but when the horse is old it will be 
slow to resume, and will stand puckered up. 
This rule will never deceive. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. I79 



ABUSE OF THE HORSE. 

It is truly astonishing what a lack of mercy 
and how much brutality there is in the world, 
and how utterly devoid some persons are of 
the commonest instincts of humanity in their 
treatment to the animal creation. How little 
regard is paid to the lessons of the divine 
word, which inculcates the beautiful virtue of 

mercy. 

The injury the horse sustains by abuse and 
maltreatment depreciates his value, in many 
instances fully one half, in the present gener- 
ation, and is the cause of many in the next 
generation. This is one of the great hin- 
drances that retard the improvement of the 
horse in our country, in many farming com- 
munities. It is seldom that the mare or the 
young colt, receive the care and treatment that 
is essential to health, or such as is conducive 
to the best interest of the owner. The great 
amount of debility, suffering, and disease oc- 
casioned by the ill usage of the horse, in all 
its forms, is greater than can be expressed in 
words. 



i8o THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

A large per cent of the ailments which be- 
fall the horse, in our own civilized country, is 
due to neglect and brutal treatment which he 
receives at the hands of man. There are 
many fine colts that are ruined or materially 
injured by mistreatment of the dam, or per- 
haps both. How many good horses has every 
observant person seen thrown into a bad con- 
dition by the same agencies, from which they 
slowly or perhaps never recovered. Many a 
scrub colt would have been foaled plump, 
healthy, and strong if the mother had been 
properly treated for some months before. Had 
the evil gone no further than the animal that 
had become the victim of such abuse, we could 
forbear our words of disapproval, but such is 
not the case; we see it, often, carried into 
future generations. If the mother is badly 
abused during gestation, she will bring her 
offspring into the world feeble and poorly de- 
veloped, and can hardly be brought up by any 
subsequent treatment to the standard of his 
race. The stock, instead of being improved, 
is thus actually thrown back; and it may 
require years or generations to reclaim the 
injury. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. i8r 

The reader's attention is here called to some 
of the common abuses of the horse : 

OVERWORKING. 

It is remarkably strange how little attention 
is given by many horsemen to the distribution 
of their horse's labor. It is, too, often the 
case that horses are unequally paired off. 
The young and tender horse is placed by the 
side of the strong and vigorous one in the 
plow or wagon, and is expected to perform his 
labor without intermission from morning until 
night, or the weak and feeble horse is placed 
beside the strong and healthy one and no 
allowances made for the feeble animal, but is 
driven on till his strength is exhausted, and 
then he is often whipped because he can no 
longer go. If he had been paired with one of 
equal power and endurance and only been re- 
quired to bear a reasonable burden, he would 
have performed his duty with cheerfulness ; 
but often there is no account taken of the load 
to be moved, or of the ground or the road to 
be passed over ; and often the poor and sub- 
missive animal has tugged at his load until 
his breath and strength are gone ; he is urged 



i82 The FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

on by the whip until he is, from exhaustion, 
forced to rebel and refuses to straighten his 
traces. By this maltreatment many valuable 
horses are balked and ruined for life, if not 
killed outright. Xor should the spirited horse 
be placed by the side of the slow one. Great 
care and judgment should be exercised in 
selecting horses of the same capacity and with 
equal nerve and spirit when they are to be 
worked together. We sometimes see sj^irited 
and nervous horses placed beside a slow and 
clumsy one, and as a result the spirited horse 
refuses to work, when if he had been paired 
equally, this would have been obviated. 

Young horses are often put to work while 
too young, before the bones are hardened, or 
developed and the joints sufficiently strong. 
In this condition the animal is not able to bear 
severe and constant labor ; and when it is ex- 
acted of him, the least injury that may be ex- 
pected will be enlarged joints and limbs, the 
remainder of his life. The young horse 
should be exercised very early in life, but 
should not be put to constant labor until he is 
at least four vears old. The overworkins^ of 
mares, while in foal, is an outrage to human- 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 183 

ity ; for two lives are here endangered instead 
of one. Great care should be taken in putting 
the horse to hard labor after he has been 
allowed to stand idle in the stable for weeks 
or months. We have treated quite a number 
of horses for sweeney and stifle, which, we are 
sure, originated from lack of proper exercise, 
after having been kept in the stable without 
exercise during the long winter months. In 
the spring he is put to the plow, and after a 
few days, hard labor he is found lame. We 
will find the horse like man to some extent. 
Who of us have not felt the effects of some 
violent labor or exercise when we were not 
accustomed to it ? 

WHIPPING. 

Many persons seem to take pleasure in tor- 
turing dumb animals, and have formed the 
habit of expending upon them some of their 
cruelty, of which their ugly nature is full. 
The poor horse has enough to endure in his 
daily labor and drudgery without being made 
the victim of the abuse of an unfeeling driver. 
It is astonishing how much thoughtlessness, 
and often purposed wickedness, there is ex- 



i84 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK, 

hibited in his maltreatment. Some men are 
so ill-natured and cross that they will vent 
their spite upon the dumb brute if any thing 
goes wrong in their business affairs ; while 
there are others of smoother disposition and 
better nature know no other way of conquer- 
ing the irritable and restless horse than by 
whipping him. This is for lack of better 
judgment. We have witnessed some extreme 
cruelties, such as beating and lashing the poor 
horse, which was enough to make the blood 
run chill in the veins of any good man. Such 
scenes are of daily occurrence. They happen 
by thousands annually. Such abuses leave 
their effects behind for months, and often for 
years. Horses are often killed by a single 
blow upon some vital organ. In chastising 
mares with foal some men have so little sense 
of feeling as to kick her about the belly. If 
she is not killed outright herself the foal 
often is. 

SLITTING THE EARS. 

This cruel and useless practice, we are proud 
to say, has almost gone out of use. Only a few 
years past since it was common to find nearly 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 185 

all the small ponies with their ears slit. The 
excuse for this was that it improved their ap- 
pearance. We must condemn this practice, 
for while it not only disfigures instead of im- 
proving his appearance, it robs him of one of 
nature's endowments. JN'ature has given him 
these organs for the protection of the internal 
parts of the ear. The internal parts of the ear 
should be protected by all the protection that 
nature gave it, as it performs a most impor- 
tant office in catching the undulations of sound 
which produces the sense of hearing. To rob 
any dumb animal of its ears impairs the hear- 
ing and causes unnecessary pain. The ears of 
the horse are one of his chief ornaments, and 
by them we can determine, to no small de- 
gree, his temperament ; when they are pitched 
forward he manifests surprise ; when they are 
drawn backward they indicate danger or mis- 
chief; when they are raised and their move- 
ments are forward and backward, it manifests 
kindness and docility. When they droop 
from right and left it indicates old age. The 
natural play of the horse's ears are both in- 
structive and attractive. 
13 



i86 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

NICKING AND DOCKING. 

There are a few men found who are not satis- 
fied unless every thing they possess differ from 
that of their neighbors. Even the divine 
Creator in his wisdom has failed to satisfy 
their vanity. Their morbid fancy can suggest 
important improvements upon the most per- 
fect specimen of nature's handiwork. The 
wise Creator has not seen jDroper to create a 
race of dogs or pigs without ears, or a horse 
with a short mutilated tail, for their special 
benefit and gratification, and not being satis- 
fied they proceed to improve, as they would 
•call it, upon the appearance of the horse by 
nicking and docking his tail, and remedy a 
mistake they seem to think the Creator made 
in constructing the horse. Endeavoring to do 
this they inflict upon the horse the most shock- 
ing cruelties. First they deprive him of a 
portion of his tail, a member of the highest 
importance ; after this the muscles are cut at 
different places to totally destroy them, and 
the use of the tail ; after this his tail is drawn 
upward by a cord. The cord is then passed 
over a pulley, at the opposite end a weight is 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 187 

attached, which stretches the inflamed mem- 
ber as much as the bones will bear. In this 
cruel and torturing condition he is compelled 
to stand for fifteen or twenty days. 

JSTeither nicking nor docking is now prac- 
ticed upon the horse, as it once was in our 
country, and we hope the practice will never 
be revived. The tail, ears, hair, and mane 
are natural ornaments, as well as necessities, 
and he should never be robbed of them to sat- 
isfy a vain and inhuman fancy. 

GENTLING AND TRAINING. 

In many cases professional stock raisers do 
not so much as superintend the feeding and 
salting their own horses, much less the hand- 
ling and gentling. By reason of this negli- 
gence, which is of utmost importance, much 
harm is done the colt, especially if left in the 
care of employed assistants who do not, in 
many instances, know nor care for the welfare 
of his employer's interests. A colt in the care 
of such attendants is often abused in such a 
way as to cause it to be shy. Some persons 
take great pleasure in scaring the young colts, 
and by so doing often ruin them for life. Young 



l88 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

animals, like young children, once they get to 
believe in ghosts such impressions will follow 
them through life. 

The best time for gentling the horse is dur- 
ing colthood, while it is yet following its dam. 
This period is generally passed over by the 
owner; his excuse is, "I am too busy to take 
the time to accomplish all that is necessary to 
be done for the young colt." At this period, 
while the dam is being worked and handled, 
the colt should receive his share of the hand- 
ling and rubbing. It is remarkable how soon 
the youngster will fall in love with the one who 
shows him friendship. It is comparatively a 
rare thing to find a man who has taken pains 
to inform himself thoroughly concerning the 
best methods of gentling the young horse, and 
training him for the different uses. The com- 
mon practice is to let the colt run unbroken 
until he is considered old and strong enough 
to perform labor ; he is then harnessed and 
put by the side of some quiet horse until he is 
forced into submission. This is a dangerous 
course for any owner of a young horse to pur- 
sue. There is danger to the horse, compelled 
to work by the side of the unbroken one, and 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 189 

it is unsafe for the driver, and often ends in 
serious injury to the colt ; and it is not a suc- 
cessful method of training and gentling the 
colts. 

But few colts can truthfully be said to be 
well broken in this way; the process is too 
rapid and abrupt. Thousands of horses are 
spoiled in breaking so they are unreliable un- 
der the saddle or in the harness, or can not be 
worked at all. A more judicious and better 
system must be adopted or these evils will 
continue to exist. The public do not seem to 
be educated to the level they should be, for 
the proper understanding of this subject; 
probably this is caused by a lack of informa- 
tion concerning it more than from any other 
cause. 

It is to be deplored that there is such a con- 
siderable amount of reading matter that is 
accessible to the farmer and that he does not 
avail himself of it and its benefits. There is 
no work now published, known to the author, 
on this subject; yet we find in many agricult- 
ural papers columns devoted to the asking and 
answering veterinary questions. So far as the 
general management of the horse is concerned 



I90 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

there has been but little, if any improvement, 
nor will there be until some better source 
of information is attainable. In some sections 
a few interested and enterprising men have 
taken hold of the matter and have made some 
marked, and to themselves, creditable im- 
provements ; but such have not benefited the 
public to any great extent, nor will they until 
such improvements are published and placed 
in the hands of the horseman. If the loss to 
the whole countr}^, in the aggregate, resulting 
from the inferior treatment of the young 
horse were summed up it would be astonishing. 
There are but few thorough trained horses for 
the saddle or harness ; the fault lies in not be- 
ginning the work early enough. The colt may 
be trained, and as well as the child. Child- 
hood is the most favorable time to train a 
child and we can not begin too early. This is 
equally true of the colt. The colt should be 
handled every day from the time he comes 
into the world until he is perfectly gentle and 
his timidity and shyness have vanished by 
frequently handling and petting. He will soon 
learn to love instead of fear his keeper. The 
colt that is permitted to run for some months 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 191 

without handling, and has no other knowledge 
of his owner but as an enemy or a monster to 
be feared, will seldom, if ever, get over this 
feeling as long as he lives. It is at this early 
age that vices and bad tricks of mature horses 
are learned. Never let the colt know what 
fear is ; be sure to hold him fast before strong 
enough to break away. There never should 
be a time when the colt does not recognize his 
keeper and the necessity for obedience ; yet 
every attention bestowed upon him should be 
gentle and kind. He should never be whip- 
ped or frightened, for he will ever remember 
any ill treatment received at this period. The 
use of the whip on the mature horse is seldom 
profitable, and is never so with the young colt. 
When the work of educating the colt is neg- 
lected, no subsequent pains will likely make 
good the deficiency. The colt of three or four 
years old, unbroken, is like the youth who has 
never known parental training. The history 
of such horses are, " Shying, kicking, backing, 
breaking the halter, and running away." The 
owner does, indeed, pay dearly for his neglect 
in the training of his 3^oung animals. The 
colt must be kept from the habits and vices 



192 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

which curse and ruin him, or if they are con- 
tracted he must be broken now in his tender 
age. ^N'ow is the only time that these bad 
habits can be corrected. The man who has 
not learned that the horse is a creature of 
habits has not learned his lessons well. Bad 
habits must be prevented or broken, and an 
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 
It is much easier and better to keep the young 
colt from acquiring these bad habits than it is 
to break them after they are once learned. 
Every farmer should be able to determine to 
what each colt is adapted ; and what place he 
can best fill ; and so soon as the decision is 
made he should set to work, and conduct the 
whole process of training with a view to this 
special purpose. All this can be done at a 
very early age, much earlier than later. It 
may be laid down as a rule " that the colt is sus- 
ceptible of training for whatever service is re- 
quired of him, and that no failure would occur 
if he is peculiarly adapted to the work assigned 
him." Man can mold and fashion his disposi- 
tion, and control his actions, and learn the 
young horse obedience and submission, and ac- 
customed to the performance of whatever duty 



Diseases of the horse. 193 

is required of him. He will be true, safe, and 
entirely free from vice in almost every in- 
stance. The process of gentling should be 
carried on as often as opportunity aifords, by 
handling his head and rubbing his neck and 
body, and by lifting his feet from the ground. 
This should all be done before weaning time, 
while the colt is with the dam. The halter 
should be occasionally placed on him, and as 
he grows gentler he should be led around. It 
is best not to try to teach him too much at one 
time. When he is at first led by the halter 
it should be done by the side of his dam. He 
should not be hitched by the halter until he 
has become well acquainted to it, and not then 
unless it be to a swinging limb of a tree. Be 
kind to him, but at the same time let him 
know that you are his master ; he must be 
made to know that you are the teacher and he 
the pupil. He must not be allowed to pull 
loose or break away, for one time of the latter 
occurrence may almost ruin him, or it may 
take months of careful management to correct 
this one evil. It is often the commencement of 
a series of bad habits. As he becomes famil- 
iarized to the halter he should be left to him- 
self for a short while. 



194 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK, 

The best way to accustom him to the saddle 
is to select a small one, which should be laid 
on his back gently and then removed. Thi& 
should be repeated several times before it is 
fastened with the girth. A blanket may be 
used instead of a saddle if more convenient. 
The work of gentling is never well done until 
all fear of man has been removed, and he 
will allow himself freedom. When this is ac- 
complished the task of taming is an easy and 
pleasant one, and his future usefulness is as- 
sured. 

The many failures that attend the breaking 
are generally the result of harsh and bad treat- 
ment. Hence the necessity of employing such 
help and methods of handling the colt as will 
make it a success. The colt should be kept 
gentle and familiar with the halter. He should 
be led about every few days until he arrives 
at a proper age to be put to service, which 
should always be light at first. This should 
be commenced by tying the colt by the side of 
a gentle horse in the shafts, and leading them 
together on the road for some time. After he 
has become sufficiently acquainted with the 
noise of the wheels, the two may be urged to 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 195 

a faster gait until they come to a trot. He 
will soon learn there is no danger, and will 
quietly submit to all that is required of him. 
He should next be taught the use of the lines, 
the weight and pressure of the harness. After 
this he can change places with the old horse, 
first by lifting the shafts, and then lowering 
by his sides, until he is made familiar with 
them ; then he may be hitched to the vehicle 
and driven along by the side of the old horse. 
After the colt has been sufficiently disciplined 
in this way, and has learned to pull the vehi- 
cle, the old horse may then be led in advance 
of him, lengthening the distance, until after a 
time he may be carried out of sight and the 
colt driven entirely alone. All these perform- 
ances are designed to accustom the colt to the 
bridle, the harness, and the shafts before he is 
strong enough to resist them. As he advances 
in age and strength his exercises should be 
increased, but should never be overworked. 
While young let his drives in the buggy be 
short but often repeated. 

When the colt arrives at a proper age to 
train for the saddle a small boy maybe gently 
placed on his back, and after sitting there a 



196 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

few minutes should be lifted off. This opera- 
tion should be repeated several times before 
he is ridden around. A sudden jumping on 
the back might excite the colt and do him a' 
permanent injury, for the bone of the back has 
not the strength and solidity of the older horse. 
It is much to be regretted that farmers who 
own colts do not appreciate the importance of 
gentling and breaking them during the sus- 
ceptible years of colthood. Such is the case 
with a great per cent of the farmers of the 
United States. The value of the horse depends 
a great deal more upon this than breeders are 
aware. 

If the colt is allowed to run without break- 
ing until he is three or four years old he will 
be wild and vicious. Such a horse will seldom 
ever be reliable and quiet. From a former 
age has been handed down to us a rough, dan- 
gerous, and unsuccessful method of breaking 
the horse — that of thrusting the wild colt by 
the side of the strong horse, hitched to the 
wagon, and thereby forcing him to submission. 
However, more rational modes are taking their 
places, among them are the following: 

Conquer the animal by depriving him of the 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 197 

use of his limbs, and making him feel that he 
is utterly powerless in the hands of the oper- 
ator, and must submit to whatever is required 
of him. In other words, it carries the un- 
broken horse or colt through a rapid and vig- 
orous course of training, which is both system- 
atic and severe, and embraces in a short space 
of time all the essential lessons that are to be 
taught him — all that has been neglected in a 
previous lifetime. As a means of taming wild 
and vicious horses it is beyond question the 
best method known, and its easy, rapid, and 
almost invariable success renders it a most 
important step forward in the science of horse- 
breaking. 

No person who thoroughly understands it 
would now think of going back to any of the 
old practices. 

The first step, of course, is to halter the ani- 
mal, which is by no means an easy matter to 
do in any case. To effect this purpose we 
have sometimes resorted to certain drugs, with 
following directions : Rub a little of the oil of 
cummin upon your hands, and approach the 
horse on the windward side so that he will 
smell the cummin. The horse will permit 



198 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

you to come up to him without any trouble. 
Rub your hand gently over the nose, so as to 
get a little of the oil on it, and you can lead 
him anywhere. Put eight drops of the oil of 
rhodium into a silver thimble, very gently 
open the horse's mouth, and turn the oil in 
the thimble upon his tongue, and he will follow 
you like a pet dog, and is your pupil and your 
friend. 

The use of any sort of drugs or essences in 
connection with horse-training is of doubtful 
propriety in any case, yet is, perhaps, admis- 
sible when you wish to catch a brute that is 
otherwise unapproachable. 

It may well be questioned whether such 
agencies do not prove injurious to the horse ; 
and even if this be not so, their good effects 
are of too transient a nature to endow them 
with any great value. 

The owner should beware of confiding too 
much in these supposed benefits, or he may 
suddenly get in danger of his vicious animal. 
After the horse is bridled, the next step is to 
throw him upon his side, which may be done 
quite easily and without any work by means 
of two straps. The first of these should be a 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 199 

strong strap of thick leather, two feet long, 
and at least an inch in width. 

The end without the buckle should be fast- 
ened to the buckle, about twenty inches from 
the latter. The left foot is lifted up to the 
hody, by an assistant meanwhile managing 
the bridle, and the strap is slipped over the 
knee, and pushed up over the lower pastern 
joint over the ankle and close to the body of 
the arm, or if the strap is furnished with a 
large loop, it will be necessary to lift the leg 
first and then buckle the strap. The animal 
now stands on three legs, and is utterly inca- 
pable of doing any mischief, unless it be with 
Ms teeth. Let him remain thus for five or 
ten minutes. If the new strap does not hold 
the foot pretty close to the body, draw the 
buckle a little tighter. 

If he springs and jumps about let him have 
bridle room, and satisfy himself that he is 
securely fastened, and can not get his foot 
down. The second strap should be six feet 
long, and furnished with an inch and a half 
ring at one end, securely sewed fast. When 
used with a surcingle, which I have practiced, 
it need not be so long, and in any case a good, 



200 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

stout leather loop will be better than an iron 
ring. The strap is to be moved around the 
ankles of the right forefoot, the end extending 
over the animal's shoulder, and held firmly 
in the right hand of the operator, who stands 
abreast the left shoulder, and jerks up the 
right forefoot, when the horse of course falls 
upon his knees. 

Here he must remain if the assistant who 
manages the bridle does his duty, and the 
operator himself keeps the strap around 
the right foot, and drawn tightly over the 
top of the shoulders. He may struggle vio- 
lently, and try to get up from his kneeling 
posture, but by keeping his head down and 
his right foot well up he will soon grow tired 
of this, and before long show a disposition to 
lie down. The operator should encourage him 
to do so by soothing words, and with one hand 
in the mangle, try to pull him over to the left 
side, while with the other hand he should be 
rubbed and caressed. 

The assistant, holding the bridle, should 
turn the head toward the right side to facili- 
tate the movement, and to compel him to fall 
when he finally concludes to do so, upon the 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 201 

left side, so that his back will be toward the 
operator. His struggles may now begin again, 
but if his head is held firmly to the ground, 
and his left foot firmly kept back, he will soon 
give over. We have described those opera- 
tions as the work of two men, because in this 
way the process becomes so simple and easy 
that no intelligent farmer or farm hand, of 
ordinary strength and activity, need be afraid 
to subject his powers to the experimental test 
of this method. But in my own practice, and 
no assistant was allowed the operator, a limi- 
tation which was compensated in a slight de- 
gree, however, by the addition of a surcingle, 
buckled on, passing the leg strap under the 
belly. It is grasped by the right hand, well 
gloved, just back of the surcingle, while the 
left hand manages the bridle reins. 

The horse is urged to move a little, which 
he can only do by hopping, when suddenly 
the left leg is drawn up to the surcingle, and 
there kept. At this he falls to his knees, of 
course, but if possessed of any spirit he will 
soon begin bounding into the air upon his hind 
legs ; then the operator must be active and on 
the alert, using both hands as above directed, 
14 



202 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

to the best possible advantage, and never get- 
ting so far forward as to expose himself to the 
danger of being caught under the horse when 
he falls upon his knees. Sooner or later the 
animal will become exhausted, whether he 
resists by violent plunges, or sulkily remains 
on his knees, and when this takes place he 
will be glad to lie dowm of his own accord. 

The right rein must be kept tight, so as to 
keep his head turned away toward the off-side, 
and, if need be, the operator may use the fur- 
ther argument of a little pressure, exerted to 
pull the horse toward himself. A man of 
nerve and activity, especially after he has had 
a little experience, is likely to prefer carrying 
the process through without the aid of an 
assistant. 

Once subdued by these means, and lying on 
his side, the horse will be indisposed to get up 
for the present, and now comes the golden 
opportunity for profiting that is passed. The 
animal must be treated with the utmost gen- 
tleness, and every effort made to quiet his 
fears and soothe his terrible excitement, which 
often causes him to tremble exceedingly. He 
must be convinced that, although completely 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 203 

mastered, he is in no way to be hurt. Confi- 
dence must replace terror, and docility his 
stubborn or vicious waywardness. Let the 
operator stroke his hair with his hand, pat 
him on his body, neck, and head, handle his 
feet, legs, and ears, and in fact all parts of his 
body, accompanying all this with kind and 
reassuring words. The man may sit down 
upon him, turn around from side to side, lie 
down upon him, etc. 

The saddle should be brought and gently 
laid upon him, the stirrups hanging on each 
side of his body; likewise all parts of the har- 
ness, piece by piece, and the chains, if they 
are to be used, laid across the prostrate form. 
After these maneuvers have been carried for- 
ward for half an hour, and all signs of fear 
have departed, the straps and surcingle, if one 
has been employed, may be removed, the head 
liberated, and the horse encouraged to rise to 
his feet. Many persons make the animal un- 
dergoing this process lie down i|i this way a 
number of times, until they readily submit to 
the operation, and fall first upon their knees 
and then upon their sides, almost at the word 
of command, and until the last vestiges of fear 



204 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

of saddle, harness, chains, or shafts have van- 
ished. It is astonishing how quickly this will 
follow when once the horse is conquered. He 
may be taught obedience in almost every par- 
ticular. But this requires close attention and 
great patience, and sometimes the work of 
breaking is not completed short of some days. 
Some persons bring the buggy and lay the 
shafts on the horse while he is down, and let 
the wheels pass around near his body. After 
he is on his feet again the saddle may be 
brought and laid carefully upon his back. If 
he submits to this, well; if not, he must be 
taken through another course of exercise on 
his side, and this must be continued until he 
is willing to allow not only the saddle to be 
put on him, but every portion of the harness 
as well. Only one piece of the gearing should 
be tried on him at a time, and if he scares or 
jumps at any of these, remove them and lay 
them down again, and take him through an- 
other course of exercise. 

The first time that he is ridden it should be 
in the stable, where he has been laid on his 
side, and here he may be mounted by some 
lad just as he has risen to his feet, and led 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 205 

around the stable several times with the young 
rider upon his bare back. This operation 
must be frequently repeated, until he becomes 
accustomed to his burden. He should not be 
hitched up in the shafts until he has become 
perfectly familiar with them, and all traces of 
fear have disappeared. He may be prepared 
for hitching up by being led into the shafts 
frequently, when they may be lifted up by his 
side, raised up and down, etc., until he is sat- 
isfied they will not harm him. If he jumps 
about and shows any timidity, continue the 
lesson until he submits, and will permit the 
shafts to be laid upon his back or neck, or by 
his side. If he is obstinately fractious or 
scary, lock up his forefeet, etc., again. Under 
such discipline he can not long hold out. 
Whatever you undertake to teach him, per- 
severe in the instruction until you succeed. 
If the horse has been thoroughly worn out 
and conquered at the outset, there will not be 
much trouble subsequently, but unless that 
has been done it will be a somewhat prolonged 
course before he is brought under proper sub- 
jection. But always remain kind and firm. 
Allow no harsh words or measures of any 



2o6 



THE FARMER 'S HORSE BOOK, 



kind. Let all your handling of him be gentle 
and soothing, remembering that the law of 
kindness is always more potent than that of 
force. After the harness has been put on an 
assistant may go behind him, taking the traces 
in his hands, pull back, so that a gentle pres- 
sure will be brought to bear upon his shoul- 
ders, and when he has kindly submitted to 
this he may be hitched up in the buggy and 
gently started oif. 

Another plan- besides that here indicated for 
familiarizing him with the shafts is the method 
laid down in a preceding section of this chap- 
ter for the training of the young horse, namely, 
to hitch him by the side of another very gentle 
horse, harnessed in the buggy, and with their 
heads tied quite close together to drive them 
around, until the unbroken one will lead kindly 
beside the other. When this is accomplished 
the two may change places and the exercise 
resumed as before. 

Still another mode which is in practice to 
some extent is to hitch the unbroken horse in 
a cart, and put in a very strong though gentle 
horse before him, the two forming a "tandem.'* 
The management of the hinder one, by either 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 207 

leading or driving, will be work enough for 
one person. After a time the forward one 
may be unhitched and led in advance of the 
young horse, the distance being gradually in- 
creased, until the young horse finds he can go 
alone ; then the old horse may be taken oif the 
field entirely. 

When the process of breaking is commenced 
it should be pursued vigorously every day 
until the wild horse is thoroughly and com- 
pletely broken, and when put in the shafts he 
should be driven freely. With such an ani- 
mal, energetic measures are necessary to teach 
him that you are his master, and that he must 
submit to your control. Do not begin the task 
of breaking him until you have the harness 
and every thing else you expect to use ready 
at hand and strong, and then keep him going 
until he is conquered, broken, and trained. 



Preparation of Medicines 

RECOMMENDED IN THIS WORK. 



The medicines discovered and recommended 
in connection with the diseases described are 
few and familiar, yet are of inestimable value, 
singly or combined, and have proven by expe- 
rience to be efficacious. The manner of prep- 
aration and use should be faithfully carried 
out. 

THE PENETRATING LINIMENT. 

To twelve ounces of spirits of turpentine 
add one ounce of finely pulverized corrosive 
sublimate and one ounce of gum of camphor, 
after which it will be ready for use. 

This liniment is very poisonous if taken 
internally, but will do no harm to the hands 
if it should come in contact with them. It is 
one of the best liniments ever compounded, 
and will reach the seat of the disease through 
all obstacles. It will cure more diseases of 
the horse than any and all other liniments 



PREPARATION OF MEDICINES, 209 

combined which has ever come under our no- 
tice. 

It destroys proud flesh and heals ulcerated 
sores and all bone and skin diseases of the horse. 
It will effectually cure scratches, thrush, grease, 
foot-evil, big head and big jaw, ring-bone, 
navicular disease, and spavin, if applied in 
time. It has been used by the human subject 
with decided benefit for rheumatism, but it is 
positively dangerous to rub on the human 
skin. There is great danger of salivating by 
external application. This liniment will not 
lose its strength, but will improve by keeping. 
Special directions are given in connection with 
the disease for which it is recommended — how 
to proceed in its use. It will blister the skin 
of the horse, and cause the hair and scarf-skin 
to fall off, but will not destroy the true skin if 
its use be followed with grease. 

MAY-APPLE SALVE. 

Take about two gallons of the May-apple 
roots, and boil them in water until a thick 
syrup is obtained, carefully stirring all the 
time to prevent its burning, and while boiling 
add as much lard or bacon grease as there is 
syrup. After the grease and syrup are thor- 



2IO THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

oughly mixed, remove from the fire, and it is- 
ready for use. 

This salve is used for tumor where matter 
is formed; also in poll-evil and fistula in their 
last stage, where pus has formed. It is slow 
in its action but sure in its effects when prop- 
erly used. It will draw all the fever and in- 
flammation to the surface. After three or four 
days little pustules will form all over the sur- 
face of the affected parts, from which will 
escape the pus or matter. When this crisis is 
reached the patient is safe ; the cure is only a 
question of time. The animal's head must be 
confined while the salve is being used. It 
gives pain for the first three or four applica- 
tions, but when the matter begins to escape 
the patient will become quiet. 

RENOVATING POWDERS. 

Take equal parts of finely pulverized rosin,, 
sulphur, and Jimson seed, ground fine. Mix 
them all together, and the preparation is com- 
plete. 

This poAvder is used in all skin and blood 
diseases of the horse. Big head and big jaw 
can not be successfully cured without it. For 
all kidney and urinary diseases this powder can 



Preparation of medicines. 211 

not be surpassed. For hide-bound and stiff 
complaint it meets the requirements in every 
particular, loosening the skin, opening the 
pores, and at the same time purifying the 
blood. 

CAIVIPHORATEO COAL OIL. 

Take any quantity of coal oil desired and 
place it in a bottle or other vessel, and add to 
it as much of the gum of camphor as the oil 
will dissolve, and the prejDaration is ready. 

This liniment is used on the throat for all 
throat troubles, coughs, colds, distemper, laryn- 
gitis, and on the legs and feet in case of 
scratches. This liniment will be found to be 
of inestimable value to the human subject, 
especially for children, in case of croup and 
whooping cough. In case of croup a flannel 
cloth should be well saturated with the lini- 
ment and applied to the chest, extending up 
to the neck and throat of the patient. 

CAUSTIC POTASH. 

Take one ounce of caustic potash, to which 
add enough water to dissolve it, and with a 
feather, or small rag mop, touch the wart with 
the liquid in the morning, wash it off at night, 



212 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

and then grease the affected parts. Next 
morning wash off the grease and apply the 
potash again. The liquid should not be used 
too freely, so as to allow it to run down on the 
sound flesh. To avoid this trouble grease well 
below the wart before the liquid is applied. 

SULPHUR OINTMENT. 

Take one ounce of red precipitate, one ounce 
of sulphur, and five ounces of lard, and thor- 
oughly mix them together. 

This ointment is used to destroy vermin. 
For this purpose apply once each day for three 
or four days, rubbing it into the hair all over 
the horse's body, neck, and legs. Just as little 
should be used as will answer the purpose, but 
the hair should be rubbed thoroughly. 

NERVE LINIMENT. 

Take one and a half ounces of hartshorn, 
one and a half ounces sulphuric ether, one 
ounce spirits turpentine, one half ounce of 
sweet oil, one half ounce of oil of cloves, one 
ounce of chloroform. Mix them all together. 

This liniment is used in all throat troubles 
and for cramps or contractions of the muscles ; 
also to rub over the region of the kidneys in 



Preparation of Medicines. 213 

all urinary affections. It will cure headache 
and toothache in the human subject quicker 
than any other known remedy, and for this 
reason should be kept in every family. 

EYE-WASH. 

Take four fresh hen eggs, break them into 
one quart of pure rain water. While it is 
cool mix, stir until thoroughly mixed. Put 
this into a clean kettle, and place it on a fire, 
bringing it gradually to a boiling heat, stir- 
ring all the time. After it has boiled a few 
minutes add one half ounce of sulphate of zinc, 
and remove from the fire. After it has stood 
a few hours the eggs will settle to the bottom, 
after which strain out the sediment, and bottle 
for use. Keep in a cool place in summer, and 
where it will not freeze in winter. 

This eye-water will cure hooks and other 
inflammation of the horse's eye, and when 
diluted with one half water will cure sore eyes 
in the human subject in almost every case. 

DISTEMPER MIXTURE. 

Take two table-spoonfuls of gunpowder, 
two of pine tar, one of soft soap, one of gum 
of myrrh, finely pulverized, and two of lard. 



214 THE FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 

Mix all together. Give one or two table-spoon- 
fuls at a close by placing it on the root of the 
tongue with a paddle. By this means it will 
reach the throat and stimulate the glands, 
which is very important in all throat troubles, 
as coughs, colds, and distem^^er. 

IODIDE MERCURY OINTMENT. 

Take of iodide mercury one ounce, and five 
ounces of hog's lard; thoroughly mix together. 

This ointment is used for ring-bone, spavin, 
and wind-galls, and for all bone enlargements, 
and can be substituted for the Penetrating 
Liniment in cases of big head and big jaw, 
but should never be applied so frequently. 
Once every five days is usually often enough 
to apply this ointment, and should be followed 
with grease about the second or third. 

LINSEED-SEED OIL. 

Linseed oil given raw in half pint doses, one 
dose each day for two days, will improve the 
condition of the bowels if constipated, and if 
the oil is followed with daily doses of one tea- 
spoonful of black antimony it will improve 
the skin and hair, giving it a healthy and 
glossy appearance. 



* — SARDIS — * 

Normal College 

SARDIS, Henderson County, TENN. 

X)PENS FALL TERMrSept. 8^1890^ WINTE TERM, Dec. 1, 1890. 
Completed and Refitted under New Management. 

Latest approved methods as practiced in the best schools 
North and South. Competent instructors in all departments. 
We can save you $50 per year. 

Compare our prices with those of other schools. 

-:- Tuition -:- 

Preparatory Course $1 00 per month. 

Normal Course 1 50 per month. 

Board.— We guarantee board as low as $5.00 per month, and 
not to exceed $7.00 for the best. 

.)^.)^4>^j. ■), I t, I ,|, |, H ,|.|. .\.\. ] I .|-i. -H 't't 'M' ■! I' ■{ t I't '{■> l''l- •!• 
EXTRA BRANCHES: 

Shorthand and Type-writing, Telegraphy and 
Instrumental Music. 



Sardis has a population of over two hundred. Its location is the most 
healthful in the State. Its people are moral, religious, and sociable, and their 
homes are thrown open to all students. We have no saloons, nor other tempta- 
tions to idleness and vice. Two churches, with preaching, prayer-meetings, 
and Sunday-school weekly. 

Sardis is 8 miles from Saltillo, 18 miles from Lexington, and 25 miles from 
Henderson. 

fi®= Special inducements will be offered all who contemplate purchasing 
property and setiling among us. Write for Catalogue and information to 

JOHN B. MINOR, 

Principal. 




A 100,000 FOR THE USUAL PRICE OF 25,000.. 

At Sardis and Lexington, Tenn, 

Forty years testing varieties in West Tennessee has enabled the 
senior proprietor to offer the very best varieties of 

FEUIT AND ORNAMENTAL TREES, 

At Remarkably Low Prices. 



Single or club orders promptly filled, and forwarded by 
freight or express. Smaller packages by mail to any office in 
the United States. 

Say, will you come or send for trees 
At early planting time ? 
Remember, they will surely please — 
Dear friends, fall into line. 
In forty years we 've learned to grow 
Such sorts as suit your climate best, 

To leave off worthless sorts you know 
Except enough to prove the test. 
Now come, or send, without delay ; 
Now plant, and prove it as we say. 

Agents Wanted. Address 

D. L. LITTLE, 

Proprietor Home Nurseries, 

Sardis, Xennessee. 

The greatest men on earth have loved 

To cultivate their fruits and flowers ; 
The great I AM of heaven above 

Maices sweet to them such well spent hours. 

The greatest Book begins, we see, 

By pointing out this gift to man. 
It ends with Everlasting Tree, 

With Fruits forever there on hand. D. L. L. 



1 



